"Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is taking action in spite of fear." Unknown

Fear is what holds many people from stepping forward. My belief is to fear, 'fear' itself, as it to often stops us from living life to the fullest. We fear the unknown, but until you step outside your comfort zone, you will not conquer fear. When you face fear head on, as I have so many times, it is amazing, how easy it is. Often times our perception of what we fear has outgrown the reality of our fear. Living in fear paralyzes you, conquering your fears can set you free.

"Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is." German Proverb

Lack of action to conquer fear allows it to grow and become a more powerful force in our lives. By taking action and conquering our fears we no longer allow them to control us.

"Fear is only as deep as the mind allows" Japenese proverb

Fear is not knowing the consequences of ones choices or decisions, but until you face this fear and step outside, you will never know. Take it on and bring it on. It is not as you would imagine it to be. You will feel exhilarated with how you feel. You will be proud of yourself for taking that step. You will feel your confidence and self esteem start peeking through again.

A quote:
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. Is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be. You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." Nelson Mandela The cycle of fear, here is just one example of how your fear might be affecting your life. Lets say you are R with your FWS and you are afraid of how your they will react if you try to talk about the A so you just don't talk about it. The end result is NOTHING happens. If you were to talk to them about it they may or may not react how you would like them to but atleast SOMETHING will happen. No matter what happens you can work on the SOMETHING but there is nowhere to go with NOTHING.

Some more quotes:
Veer Sharma
FEAR:
F--FALSE
E--EVIDENCE
A--APPEARING
R-REAL

"To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead." Bertrand Russell

"Fear is that little darkroom where negatives are developed." Michael Pritchard

Something to ponder: What are you afraid of? Do your fears hold you back? What fears have you overcome? What steps can you take to overcome the fears that are still holding you back?

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this and any stories or insight you have to share related to fear.