Eleanor Roosevelt said; "You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing in which you think you cannot do". Without fear would we be fearless? Would we always feel safe and/or happy? Would we attempt to do things we otherwise would not do and what would we do if we knew we could not fail? Jump off a cliff. Dance for the world to see. Quit our jobs. Say "I love you". Overcoming our fears is the challenge. It strengthens us. To stand up and say; "I can do this" is what makes us stronger. Courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it.
To know the difference of when fear will keep us safe and when it will hold us back is also its own challenge. Never knowing what could have been doesn't always mean it would have been better or should have been done at all but being afraid can stop us from finding out. It's a vicious circle being afraid to act and being afraid of not knowing. I'm so scared to but I'm scared not to. What if I don't? As I said not only does facing our fears make us stronger... it gives us answers. It's exhilarating. For some it's what drives us and pushes us to our limits. Facing our fears can make us feel alive. Looking fear in the eye and saying "Get the Hell outta my way".
"The only thing we have to fear is fear it self" If only it were that easy. I say "Pursue Happiness". To focus on being happy and putting all your energy to getting there. "In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure" Bill Cosby. The more you focus on being happy the less you pay attention to fear. While there are some who are afraid to be happy, being unhappy is what I fear the most.
"Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world"
