BRIONA SAAS
Special to The Leader
Hello to all fellow students at Fredonia! I’m going to discuss a topic this week that could be quite scary. It’s something we are uncomfortable talking about and frequently try to avoid in our everyday lives. I’m here to talk to you about fear. I’m not talking about spiders or monsters, but I guess you can apply this lesson to that, too. What I’m really speaking about is what stops you from doing what you truly want to do.
Here are some questions I want you to ask yourself. What fear is standing in in your way of doing what you truly want to accomplish? Also, what fears stop you from becoming who you truly want to be? I’ll tell you that the only thing that will stop your fears from affecting your life negatively once and for all is yourself.
There are many ways we can trick our minds to overcome these fears. The first step is to understand what your fear is and face it head-on. Acknowledging our fears is how we begin to conquer them.
Most fears come from over-thinking. Have you ever thought that maybe you’re scared to change your lifestyle because you’re worried you might fail? Oftentimes we stop ourselves before even trying, and this is a big issue.
Some of us are scared that the disappointment or failure could be worse than the delight of the achievement; that’s not true! Don’t give up or quit — try and try again. If you keep at it, your hard work will never go to waste. Once you reach your goal, it’s only more satisfying.
Let me ask you another question. Are you scared you won’t reach the goals you’ve been dreaming of since you were a child? Do you worry about disappointing others around you? Or maybe you’re even worried to tell someone how you truly feel about him or her because of your uncertainty of how they feel toward you. Here’s a great lesson I learned a few years ago: stop caring about what other people might think of you.
The only people we should worry about are the ones who really care about us. These people are your loved ones, your family and your closest friends. Here’s some even better news for you: these people will be there to support you at your best times and your worst times.
There are always people out there who are just waiting for us to fall, and by worrying about them, we lose focus on ourselves. Remember that your fears are not something you must face alone; the only person who is going to fix the issue once and for all is yourself, with the support of friends and family, of course.
Our supporters are here to guide us and reassure us that everything will be okay. However, our supporters are not here to remove our fears once and for all — we must put in effort ourselves. We also can’t wait around doing nothing, hoping that the problem will fix itself and that with time, it will all go away. Our fears are deeply rooted in our minds and will follow us everywhere we go, unless we do something about them.
We must conquer our fears before they conquer us. Don’t be scared of defeat and things not going the way you planned. The only way to beat that fear is to just let it be and learn to be accepting of what may and may not happen. Don’t let your fear stand in the way of your happiness. Be happy with your outcomes, good or bad. If it’s good, great, and if it’s bad, it’s an experience. What better way to learn from life than that?