- Fear of poverty.
- Fear of criticism.
- Fear of ill health.
- Fear of loss of love or not finding love.
- Fear of old age.
- Fear of death.
Here are some symptoms of having these fears:
INDIFFERENCE,
INDECISON, DOUBT, WORRY, OVERCAUTION, PROCRASTINATION, NOT FULLY
LOVING, SEEKING APPROVAL, LOW MOTIVATION, DEPRESSION...
These
are just a few of the symptoms. As you can see, they're all negative
traits that can prevent us from our potential and being happy.
Now,
everyone has these fears to a certain extent. We wouldn’t be human if
we didn’t. But these fears become a problem when they consume us, take
over our thoughts, drive our behavior, and eventually hinder our quality
of life.
Let's take a closer look.
Fear of poverty.
If we measure our worth by our income, we'll always have a fear of poverty. Since we have tied them together in our head, poor means worth less.
In order to overcome this fear, we must believe that our worth and our
ability are separate. We will always have the ability to make money. And
that has nothing to do with who we are. Unfortunately, because of the
world we live in that may be difficult to believe. Also, sometimes how
much we make is beyond our control—The economy, circumstances, etc. can
prevent us from making what we normally make or would like to make. At
the end of the day, money will come and go. I don’t care how rich you
are: You will make money and you will lose money. The focus should not
be fear of poverty. The focus should be fear of not reaching potential.
Of
course there are people who grew up in poverty and their childhood is
the fire that gets them working 70 hours a week. Correction—it’s their
fear of poverty that turn them into machines. One can argue this is a
good thing because it drives them. But it also forces their life to be
unbalanced.
Fear of criticism.
Remember
this: it's not always about you. Criticism is mostly about the other
person. I think this is what many people don’t realize. When we get
criticized, we instantly question our value. Usually, we believe other
peoples’ opinions of us and concave without realizing that their
opinions are only their version of our story. And since their story is
not perfect, they are only seeing things through their own lens. When we
fear what others think of us, we seek their validation. We bury our
truth and again, limit our potential.
Fear of ill health.
Nothing
puts things into perspective faster than when someone you love becomes
ill. We realize that our problems are not as big as we thought. Many
have anxiety because we are afraid we will get hurt or physically ill.
We think twice before doing anything that involves physical risk. This
is another fear that keeps us in a shell, away from the world, trapped
in our own mind and in this case, house.
A
reputable physician estimated that 75% of all people who visit
physicians for professional service are suffering with hypochondria
(imaginary illness). It has been shown most convincingly that the fear
of disease, even where there is not the slightest cause for fear, often
produces the physical symptoms of the disease feared.
Powerful and mighty is the human mind, it builds or it destroys.
Fear of loss of love of someone.
When
we're afraid we are going to lose someone, we either end or sabotage
the relationship or we lose ourselves in it. This fear is harmful. Fear
of loss of love is very similar to jealousy in that it suffocates the
other person, so to speak. It makes him or her feel that tremendous
pressure of being the most important thing in your life and being the
“gauge” of your happiness. Ironically, then, the more afraid you are to
lose your lover, the more your actions will push him or her away from
you.
Fear of old age & fear of death.
Simply
put, our fear of dying keeps us from living. We will all die. That's
fact. We must not focus on the ticking clock, but rather the
moments. The more control we have over these fears, the closer we will
be to happiness.
Fear is created in your head.
They stem from thoughts. These thoughts were formed from experience and
imagination. To over come a fear, we must face it.
“We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”
- Franklin Roosevelt
