Become Fearless and Master Confidence in 3 Steps
Remember the last time you were afraid. How did you feel? If you were too scared to do anything maybe your feet feel like they were made out of iron welded to the ground. Fear often paralyzes us in this way.
No matter how powerless you feel in moments of fear, you can still break free and build confidence. Fear is only a learned habit. Sometmes it’s rational, like knowing you shouldn’t touch fire because you’ve been burned before. Othertimes It isn’t rational. Such as being afraid to start conversations with new people, even though you’ve successfully done it many times.
Fearlessness means mastering your fear. Instead of getting knocked down once and staying down, it means you keep getting back up. The more often you face your fears, the less control they have over you.
Fear is an opportunity
Muhammad Ali said: “We can’t be brave without fear.”
Without fear we would have no opportunities to develop courage and test our limits. Without fear we wouldn’t care about protecting ourselves and other people.
Fear is a valuable tool that exposes your limits. It is constantly forcing you to make a decision to either hide and stagnate or challenge yourself and grow. When you think of fear as an opportunity, you change your entire mindset. Instead of spending your life running away from fear, you suddenly feel empowered by the opportunities fear provides.
If you are serious about becoming fearless then follow these 3 steps:
1. Write Down Your Fears
Get out a notebook and write down all your fears. Take your time and think about all the situations, people, and life goals that make you scared. This will help you develop awareness of all your fears.
Rank your fears. Starting with the ones that cause you the least anxiety all the way to the fears that leave you a shaking, stuttering mess of terrified inaction. Don’t worry if you still don’t believe you can overcome any of these fears yet. Eventually, you will be able to overcome them all and become fearless.
Face at least one fear every day
Now that you have a ranked list of your fears, start facing them. Start with the least fear inducing, and work your way up to the scariest. Choose a day to start and don’t stop until you’ve faced every fear on your list.
Perhaps the first day you ask directions. Maybe it isn’t so hard, but you are a little nervous to talk to a stranger. A week later you may have finally built up the courage to ask your boss for a raise.
By doing something you are afraid of every day you built a habit of facing your fears and learning from them. Instead of being paralyzed by fear you will develop the courage to face any new situation.
Make sure you eventually tackle the fears that are really important to you. Such as starting your own business, or joining competitions you’ve always wanted to compete in. Don’t be afraid to pursue your dreams.
Reward Yourself For Facing Your Fear
Every time you face a fear it’s important to reinforce your success with a reward. This helps your brain learn to associate facing the fear with good feelings.
The reward can be anything. Such as listening to your favorite song, eating your favorite food, or anything you can enjoy immediately after facing your fear. For best results, use the same reward consistently every time you face a fear.
If you want to become fearless then be honest with yourself about all your fears. Start facing them one by one, and reward yourself for developing the courage to overcome them. You will gradually feel more and more fearless and confident.