Fear Quotes and Tips

"How do we hold the fear? From a position of choice, energy and action or from a position of helplessness, depression and paralysis?" -- Susan Jeffers

"Many of our fears are tissue-paper-thin, and a single courageous step would carry us clear through them." -- Brendan Francis

"Your fears are not walls, but hurdles. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the conquering of it." -- Dan Millman

" every choice is a choice between love and fear, but we can't begin to access our love until we acknowledge our fear." -- Paul Ferrini

"Don't fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things. The saddest summary of a life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have." -- Louis E. Boone

"The key to success is for you to make a habit throughout your life of doing the things you fear." -- Brian Tracy

"We can't fear the past. Fear is a future thing. And since the future's all in our heads, fear must be a head thing." -- Tom Payne

"I have not ceased being fearful, but I have ceased to let fear control me." -- Erica Jong

When we explore what blocks us from moving ahead in life, we find fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of success, fear of loss. For a human being, fear is simply a fact of life.

How do we work with fear? Take these three steps:

1. Admit you're afraid. We need to allow ourselves to feel our fear. We can't move through fear if we are afraid to experience it. And there's a blessing here: when we permit ourselves to truly feel our fear, the fear usually eases, all on its own. It's not nearly so frightening!

2. Consciously shift your experience. For example, stop focusing on what you don't want - on what you're afraid of - and begin to focus on what you do want. Replace your images of disaster with visions of success on the TV screen in your mind. And don't allow your thinking to change channels!

3. Take action. Simply start where you are and take a step or two that will move you to a new vantage point.

It helps to understand that fear is usually a projection into the future. We typically fear what MIGHT happen rather than what is happening now.

Susan Jeffers notes that 90% of what we fear usually does not materialize. To help us believe in our success, she recommends this as a war cry: "I'll handle it!"