Saturday, September 24, 2011

Fear

fear/fi(ə)r/
Noun: An unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.
Verb: Be afraid of (someone or something) as likely to be dangerous, painful, or threatening:




Fear is a powerful thing-
at times it can be paralysing.
Some fears can cause a very strong physical response.
That "fight or flight" reaction
Fear can stop you from living-in big and small ways
it can hold you back from your true potential.

Fear is the giant brick wall smack dab in the middle of the road to your own success.
Fear of failure.
Fear of rejection.
Fear of what others might think.


Imagine what you could accomplish if those fears were to evaporate--or at least diminish.


So what is it that you are afraid of??


Do you hold back leaving it all out there on race day for fear of not reaching your goal?
Are you skipping that LT Interval session on the trainer because you know it is going to be painful?
Or not giving 100% on that track workout because you fear injury?
Maybe it is being afraid to try something new.


Identify-What IS IT that you fear?
Once you are able to accurately identify what it is you fear, you can take steps to overcoming it.


Fear is a vital response to physical and emotional danger—if we couldn't feel it, we couldn't protect ourselves from legitimate threats. But often we fear situations that are in no way life-or-death, and thus hang back for no good reason.  Trauma or bad experiences can trigger a fear response within us that is hard to quell. Yet exposing ourselves to our personal demons is the best way to move past them ~ Psychology Today


Focus on the positive-
How can addressing and overcoming this fear be of benefit?
Think about it--how will you life change for the better?
Writing down all the wonderful things you will gain in your life by overcoming this fear can be a powerful. Focus on those positive things to get motivated and inspired. Revisit your list when you feel discouraged, uncomfortable or afraid.

Take Action-
By taking steps--even baby steps--towards your goals you are making progress.

Do not fear "failure". You only truly FAIL when you do not try.
Every "failure" is an opportunity to learn.
To grow.
To improve.

I have learned more through races and training sessions that would be considered "fails" than the days that went just as planned.


For many years, even in my youth, I would worry and fret about little things-tests in school, new social situations, trying out for a team, etc. I would get myself all worked up and anxious about whatever it was. My Mom would always tell me that I was creating a "doomsday" scenario--and it was true. After I would EXPERIENCE these things, I would always end up wondering why I spent so much time and energy on FEAR. Because "IT" was never as bad or as scary as I had imagined it to be.


It was not until the last couple of years that I started testing my limits, stepping out of my comfort zone and doing new things.
The first day I stepped into the gym and I full of FEAR>
afraid that the other people would wonder what that fat chick was doing
afraid that I would get laughed at
afraid that I would not know how to turn on the treadmill
THAT FEAR of simply walking into the gym held me back and stopped me from getting fit for many years.
Of course, there were many more layers of fear that kept me trapped. FEAR of change. FEAR of being vulnerable.


That is when I decided that I would start facing my fears and
"get comfortable being uncomfortable"

Little by little, I realized that I had let these fears stop me from doing so many things. I have a new sense of freedom by casting fears-both big and small-aside and facing them head on. So I am pushing my own personal boundaries and seeing where it takes me.

It has been a a work in process and I have learned that the old saying is true:
The Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself ~FDR



What "fear" is holding you back-
and what are you missing out on because of it?


FEEL THE FEAR AND DO IT ANYWAY

13 comments:

A Prelude To... said...

This is so good! I totally had a paralyzing day this week when I started letting fear of the unknown take over my whole self. It was awful and I couldn't get it to let up.

In the past I would have let it completely hold me back, but I'm coming to realize that MOST people DO let it hold them back and the people that DON'T fall for it, move ahead and make progress and are SUCCESSFUL!!

If people would just press forward and face the fear they would realize their goals and dreams.

EXCELLENT STUFF TODAY!!

Erica Gorman said...

Awesome post. My fear is reinjury of my left piriformis and now that I read this, I think I have been holding back some. I am ready to step out of my comfort zone and see what I can really do! Why fear reinjury when I can train better?

THANKS!

Jason said...

This is a great post. Great job of facing down your fears and moving on.

I can tell you that my biggest and only fear is death. Other than death nothing can't be overcome and thus no reason to fear it.

We fail all the time and will fail far more than succeed so why worry about failure.

I always put it into baseball perspective. The greatest hitters of all time go to the hall of fame having failed 7 out of 10 times at the plate.

HD said...

Great post. I've had alot of fear going on lately. But I'm working on moving past it :) Hope everything is going alright with you!

Rene' said...

Wow! This post was what I needed today. I am petrified to ride my bike. I have been wanting to step into doing Tri's, but have been really AFRAID because of the bike portion. I know that I just have to get on and practice, but I don't even know where to begin. My goal for this week is to try to get on it and practice.
My short term fear is that I am not going to make it through the Chicago Marathon is 2 weeks. I have been nursing an injury and and pretty banged up. Fingers crossed that I make it.

Finallyfit2011 said...

I feared heading into the Dirty 6 this a.m. WITHOUT my partner!!! She had to cancel last minute so I headed into the crowds ALL BY MYSELF! And you know what? It was a total blast!!! Met new people, ran my own race & per the directors of the course for the 3 mile I was "in the top"!!! I can't wait to find out how I finished! :)

Melissa Cunningham said...

great post girl!!!!!

MizFit said...

Oh my goodness.

there are no accidents and there IS a reason I found you today.

Carla

Big Daddy Diesel said...

This is the post of the day so far, very well written!!!

PS, there is a small remote possiblity that I might be racing at an event that you will be racing at next year

Katie said...

you can borrow my mantra - "faith not fear."

Unknown said...

BDD--it is the Run for Cash 5k???? End of June???

or something bigger and better??

If I venture out to OHIO next year, I'll let you know :)

Jeremy said...

Amazing how much fear can hold us back from our dreams, but once we break through it we can accomplish some amazing things on a continual basis. I often fear getting into longer distances, but once i break through I feel so good!

Unknown said...

THis is a great post. Thanks for writing it. I still fear that I'll never find the strength to lose the weight in the way you did. But Im going to give it everything I have.