Dare to Live Without Limits
By Bryan Golden

The effects of fear are far reaching. Fear can thwart success, obscure opportunities, inhibit personal growth, induce depression and encourage inactivity. In the past, fear has served a vital function.

Fear of fire, pain and death has been essential to mankind's survival throughout history. Fear was an important asset that helped an individual stay alive. We no longer live in primitive survival mode. Most, if not all, of the fears we experience hurt us instead of help. What are you afraid of? The following are some common fears: fear of poverty, fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of ridicule, fear of loss, fear of the opinion of others, fear of being different, fear of success, fear of the unknown, fear of loss of security and fear of old age.

Overcoming your fears requires that you go where you're afraid to go and do what you're afraid to do. Others have already overcome whatever it is you're afraid of. If someone else can conquer the fear, you can too.

In order to live free, you can't allow your fears to control you. To conquer fear, you need to understand the basis for your fear. First, determine what you have control over versus what is beyond

Don't expend any effort or energy on issues you have no influence over. Distressing over the price of gas, the economy, or the weather, etc. is pointless. Let's look at overcoming the fears you do have control over.

Fear of poverty can cause you to miss opportunities. For example, the prospect of changing jobs, changing careers or going into business for yourself can be scary. To conquer any fear, consider the worst that can happen. Invariably you will find that the worst case scenario isn't really that bad.

If you change jobs and it doesn't work out, you can change jobs again. If you change careers and you don't like the new career, you can go back to your old one or try another. If you go into business for yourself and it fails, you can always start another venture.

As long as you don't throw in the towel, the chances of you falling into the depths of poverty are virtually non-existent.

Fear of failure can stop you from trying anything new. Sometimes events may not work out as intended. So what? Thomas Edison discovered 9,999 ways in which a light bulb wouldn't work before he found the one way it would.

People who succeed the very first time are the rare exception. Will you look back on your life and regret that you were paralyzed by fear of failure? Or will you be glad for all the things you did and the chances you took?

Fear of rejection can be debilitating. The desire for acceptance by others is ingrained from infancy. If you make decisions based on fear of rejection, you are doing what you think someone else would approve of rather than what you want.

Whatever you do, you will never please everyone, nor should you try. Do what you want and don't worry what other people will say, think or do.