Tag Archives: Fear

Facing the Storms, Fearlessly . .

22 Wednesday Oct 2014

Posted by in Character, Commitment, Confidence, Conquering Fear, Courage, Discipline, Integrity, Life, Self-Esteem

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It’s often fear, worry or doubt which makes us run from challenges, storms and the random turmoil of life; but then it’s failure, regret and insufficient results with which we are left in their wake! A part of us always loses when we walk (or run!) away from a challenge, cower in the face of our storms or let the circumstances of life keep us from living our life to the fullest measure. Pieces of our own integrity are lost, chunks of our self-confidence are eroded, and our own belief in our abilities is etched away.

 

Each challenge, storm, or difficult circumstance which we encounter in this life serves as an opportunity to provide to us so much in the way of personal growth and development. But not if we let fear, worry or self-doubt keeps us from facing it head on or ultimately conquering it. Every time we let those emotions win, we fail to realize the rewards of improved confidence, awareness and self-esteem for having bested them! A big life lesson is learned every time we push through . . accepting our challenges and relishing the lessons inherent in them!

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Many people choose to claim their challenges, their miseries and their life’s turmoil as badges of honor; but the real badge of honor is in beating it down and in besting it all! It’s in the overcoming where we become so much more than we imagined! So many people keep track of their losses, their failures, their miseries and the discord of life so that they can use the tally as an excuse to stay safely where they are; rather than realizing those same events and challenges provide opportunity for growth, change and understanding!

The fight to overcome what comes at us in life with courage and willful tenacity rewards us with confident, purposeful and deliberate growth, enhanced stability and assurances from within! School is in session each new day . . make it your goal to pass the tests of life as they appear with courage and tenacity; and to continue in developing your own potential as you progress through the years!

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Facing the Giants We Fear . .

14 Tuesday Oct 2014

Posted by in Commitment, Confidence, Conquering Fear, Courage, Faithfulness, Fear, God, Self-Respect, Strength, Trials

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Fear is born from our need to process what we cannot, out of our longing to seize control when we aren’t sure we have any and through our inability to imagine how everything we might fear plays out without hurting us, irreparably changing us or negatively impacting our lives. That is fear . . it’s dreading and resenting something, someone or some set of events which represent change, disturbance and discord.

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Perhaps we fear a disease. Maybe we fear other people. Often we fear one thing so much, we refuse to do that out of fear – e.g. public speaking, flying, etc.. It might just be we fear all that is changing in our lives as we age, because we doubt our own ability to handle what comes our way. But fear is a liar. It doesn’t always adequately represent the truth of what we’re facing or even the truth of what will be. And fear is a liar in that it doesn’t take into account the power, strength, will and perseverance which might just see us through the times ahead. And fear again lies, because it forgets that we’re not alone. We have God!

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I believe it was in the movie “Facing the Giants“, (which is all about facing our daily fears and those incredible “giants” of things and people in life which we fear just because of who or what they represent) that I saw the reference to the number of times God mentions not fearing in His Word, found in the Bible. 365 separate times we’re told to not fear. I don’t expect He thought we wouldn’t feel fear or be fearful; but I believe He wanted to assure us 365 times that no matter the fear, the size of our giants or the battle ahead, we’re not alone – He is with us! Fear and our giants are not fought by us alone, He is with us. So it’s not our size, our fight or our abilities which matter. We must face things with courage, which surely takes effort and practice these days, but we can do so because of His abilities and His “size”! Don’t measure what you fear and your giants against your ability; measure the fear, the giants you face and the ability to best it all based on the all-powerful, promise-keeping and faithful Father! Give your fears their rightful rest in Him!

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Confronting Fear . .

12 Sunday Oct 2014

Posted by in Attitude, Character, Commitment, Confidence, Conquering Fear, Courage, Fear, Lessons, Self-Control, Strength

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Living with fear can really put a damper on your life. It can stop you in your tracks, keep you from living fully and prevent you from growing into the best version of you that you can be! Fear is truly like a restraint laid upon our souls and spirits, whereby our movement, growth and success can be limited. We might feel fear for a genuine reason, such as a threat perceived; but if we don’t learn how to face that fear or to overcome fears, we end up giving our power to them! 0dc4d41d2712d6dd6f288b19d9dc4c2d

 

Fear is a challenge, in that by feeling fearful, we are forced to confront whatever it is we dread or doubt – before we can accomplish what we must. Fear is also the source of doubt within us as to our own abilities! When fear rears its ugly head, we might let it negate our ability to muster the courage required to do what we must in spite! Fear also depletes our confidence, pieces at a time! If we let fear win whenever we’re forced to confront it but don’t, we eventually diminish our self-confidence and self-respect in turn. There is nothing to do when we feel fear but to confront it!

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Fear is a rallying cry within us to muster up courage. Every time we muster that courage, we knock fear back to manageable sizes within us. Every time we don’t, however, fear then grows exponentially! If we leave fear unabated within us, so that it looms over our lives with increasing power; we will suffer a loss of self-worth. Fears are muscles we flex for numerous reasons; we aren’t certain, we have doubts or perhaps we don’t want to make mistakes. But instead of flexing the muscles of fears, we can feel it but then flex the countering muscle of courage! When we feel fearful yet act courageously to overcome or abate our fear, we can truly propel our maturity and growth as a result! As the saying goes, Feel the fear, but do it anyway!

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What's Ahead?!

04 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by in Dreams

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What’s Ahead?!

There are always turning points in our lives, the places we come to along the journey when we have to veer, make an amended plan or alter our course because we’ve run out of usable road! It’s inevitable! We simply must correct as we go. The difficulty arises when we stalwartly cling to our familiar places, our constant patterns, the things to which we are most familiar. It’s not easy to adapt when we are hanging on for dear life to what we don’t want to release!  What is it about those turning points that makes us so afraid? Is it the fact that we are in fact changing something, even though we might not be happy with the status quo, that makes us face a different or altered direction? It’s just that, we are usually uncomfortable with too much change, as change means doing or being something different.

In change, we see the unknown, the uncertain, and the possibility for all sorts of problems. At least that’s how we see it when we look at change through eyes of fear or doubt. When we view change as an inevitable and necessary means of growth, personal development and advancing our spiritual maturity, it can become the vehicle for our success!  Turning points are like the curves in the mountain roadway, the only way to the summit is by making the criss-crossing switchback turns which will allow you to manipulate your way to the top! So, without regular turns, your life would soon grow stagnant and ineffectual for your necessary growth! You need those switchbacks to push you out of your comfortable places, forcing you to learn the fine art of adaptation, the ways to patiently deal with variation, and the feeling of accomplishment which comes from slowly winding your way up all the great mountains of your life, one turn after another!

Master the art of change, the skill of flexible adaptation, and you will successfully ascend to all the summits of your success!   The master of turning points will recognize the beauty in the changes which make their life different. Seize the day, take the moment in hand and believe that you have what it takes to make the change work on your behalf! Your ability to alter each step of your journey, whilst negotiating all the hazards of the unknown, will leave you feeling strong and capable, instead of fearful and impotent. You can even capitalize on your faith the most within change! It is when you are most beset with the fear of something new, that you are able to muster your strongest response, overcoming, excelling pushing past to the next obstacle in your path. It’s inevitable, when we are the most under pressure, the most fearful and the worries want to stranglehold our dreams, that we are able to rise up like warriors, certain of our faith and able to wage war against anything which threatens our peace!    Accept change as the benevolent teacher of great life lessons! That is truly what it is . . and as much as you might not like the sensations you experience with each change, mastering them with confidence can and will make you wear the medal of honor, having faced fear and won! 

A New Day – Cheryl Ries

04 Tuesday Sep 2012

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A New Day…

I’ve gotten several mammograms now … not my favorite thing to do, as it represents aging, time passing, another potential for my health to go downhill with time.  It’s not supposed to be anything other than a preventative measure, but it’s been more for a couple years now, as from almost the beginning, they’ve been a bit abnormal.  It’s never been definitively disease, fortunately, I’m so happy to say I’ve not had cancer, but I felt vulnerable.  I felt vulnerable each time the tech would return and tell me that I wasn’t free to go, that something needed further inspection, and that I would have to stay, or in two other cases, return for another test which was an ultrasound each time.  It’s the worse feeling in the world, getting that letter, that seemingly mundane letter, which upon further inspection indicates a need to schedule additional testing.

 The first time I had a mammogram turn up “iffy”, I shared the anteroom with a woman who had been through it three times prior, as she was a survivor, having one breast removed and now going down that pathway again with the other.  I immediately was frightened, just by being near her.  She was the fear of which I didn’t speak, the thing I couldn’t verbalize about my own trepidations in those moments.  What if …what if I was entering into that same journey of sickness, despair and fear of inarguable measure?  What if …But in those same moments within that anteroom … I learned a quintessential fact about life and the amazing quality of surviving.  I learned through that woman’s gift of self, that it needn’t be a fear-filled moment, but rather, it could and should be a moment shared between souls, one where women facing their own fears could be positive and supportive of one another.  And we were.  We talked of our health, our well-being, and our dreams.  I spoke to her of my upcoming dreams to live with my beloved in Italy, where in fact her family had originated.  It was in those moments I knew that God had placed her there for me, and hopefully, me for her.

 It was an idyllic meeting of our spirits, our souls, and our hearts.  We spent all of 20 minutes together, but it was like a lifetime passed between us somehow.  We never connected again, but I will never forget the gift of meeting a woman, who in her survival, her refusal to give in to cancer, inspired me to never fear the anteroom like I first did that morning.  Now, each time I go for my now-again annual exam, I am reminded that it is better to be knowledgeable and determined, alert and prepared!  Take the spirit of a fighter with you to your mammograms, be proactive and positive, get your mammograms regularly, and always be kind to the other angels along the journey!