Face your fears

There are real tangible fears that make you break out into a sweat at the merest thought, and then there are the freeloaders, the imaginary worries that have tagged along in great numbers for the free ride. In the troubled state you’re in, your mind cannot differentiate between the two. So the first thing to do when you get stressed out is to separate real fears from the bogus ones. Look at your worst case scenario with a microscope. Lower your sense of self-esteem a bit and try and accept the worst that can happen to you. Let’s say you can’t pay the EMI any more because you lost your job. So what will happen You’ll have to give up your bike and go by bus. What’s the worry That people will say ‘oh, he doesn’t have a bike anymore’. You have fallen in the eyes of your world. If on the other hand you can negotiate with yourself on the what-people-will-say bit, the loss of the 2-wheeler won’t feel that bad. The day you tell yourself ‘to hell with people, let them say what they will say’ your fear of not paying the EMI will have disappeared, and you will focus on the real issue of getting another job. The point is that most fears can be negotiated with and reduced by just talking things out inside your head. Most of our worries are inflated by our sense of self-importance, and once that is managed, the world will instantly start to look better. Another thing I have personally learnt from life’s experiences is to use fear in creative ways. A great amount of mental energy is locked up in our worries, and in a sense our fears are actually a treasure house of power that can be put to good use. My golden rule is — use every fear to galvanise you into action. Lost your girlfriend to the competition Use that panic to get another girlfriend. Fared badly in exams Use that worry to focus on the future. Scared you don’t have enough friends Well, what are you waiting for Go make new friends. Once you learn to use fear creatively you’ll find lots of new stamina, tremendous enthusiasm, awesome power in everything you do. It’s a great motivator, a friend and benefactor. Never let fear scare you. Make it motivate you. After a while you’ll learn to ride it effortlessly. Fear is the currency of your daily life. It’s the petrol that fuels your mental engine, makes you go that extra mile to get what you want. So every time you feel it pour down your veins, fill the tank up and zoom forward full throttle.