British adventurist Sir Ranulph Fiennes has been called the world’s greatest living explorer. He’s navigated some of the world’s most challenging and inhospitable places on earth including trekking the Antarctic and both North and South Poles, unsupported and on foot.
When he was in his 60’s, Fiennes decided to overcome a severe fear of heights by climbing Mt. Everest. On his second attempt, hundreds of feet short of the summit, he suffered severe chest pains. It was night time, and he was dangling from a rope on a near vertical ice wall at 29,000 feet above the ground. Frozen and in pain, he turned around and somehow managed to descend. He lived to tell the tale, running a marathon a mere 16 weeks after his near fatal heart attack.
When it comes to facing your fears, how daring are you? Do you turn tail and head in the opposite direction? Do you waver and hope the feeling passes? Or, do you, like Fiennes, stand firm and always face your fears head on?
Picture what your life would look like if you consistently faced off against your fears, both big and small, with the fearlessness of someone like Sir Ranulph Fiennes. What would it feel like to boldly stare down and confront your fears,,never letting them interfere with what you want to accomplish? Imagine what you could achieve if you never again let fear get in your way.
“Don’t be afraid of your fears. They’re not there to scare you. They’re there to let you know that something is worth it.” C. Joy Bell C.
For example, fear can make us hesitate, procrastinate, experience creative blocks, and be averse to risk. All of this can lead to low accomplishment, which can cause stress. That stress can lead to cognitive impairment, an increased risk of heart disease, premature aging, relationship conflicts, depression, and more – and a cycle of fear is born. That cycle can leave us feeling like we’re just going through the motions of life without really living.
“My life has been filled with terrible misfortune most of which never happened.”
Michel de Montaigne
The remedy for our childhood fear of monsters lurking under the bed was to shine a light into the darkness. Once we did, it revealed the truth – there were no monsters. Once we shine the light of truth at what scares us, we often discover our fears to be unfounded.
Remember there is nothing to fear but fear itself and, if you’ve been living in fear, it’s time to spring into action in your life!
If you would like more specifics on how to overcome your fears, read my tips about that in my article below “How to Overcome Your Fears”.