HP sa for siden:
Prepared for Colleague
By: Lisa Jimenez
Albert Camus, a famous author and philosopher, once applied
names to the previous centuries. He named the seventeenth
century as the century of math. The eighteenth was the century
of physical. The nineteenth was the century of biology. Then, he
shocked the public by naming the twentieth century the century
of fear.
Along with this bold statement, came that of philosopher and
poet, W.H. Auden. He called our time, "The Age of Anxiety."
Newspaper columnist Ann Landers was once asked, "Out of all the
thousands of letters you receive each month, what problem is
most dominate in people's lives?"
"It's fear!" she replied without hesitation. "People live in
bondage with their fear. They're afraid of losing their wealth.
They're afraid of losing their loved ones. They're afraid of
being themselves. They're afraid of growing up and being
responsible. They're afraid of life itself!"
What about you? What fear, hidden or known, is affecting your
behavior and keeping you from living your dreams?
I have never met a person who hasn't had to face some degree of
fear. In all the personal coaching clients I work with I heard
story after story about how they, too, had to face and deal with
their fear. What I began to notice is how similar the stories
were! The names would change. The circumstances were different.
But the fear was the same - and very real. I came to understand
this profound truth:
The difference between mediocre success and a breakthrough
success is your willingness to face and deal with your fear.
When your fear is exposed, you break its control over you. The
reality is, fear was never intended to dominate your destiny or
control your behavior. FEAR IS HUMAN. It is in every person's
life, exists in every success story, and is part of growing.
Fear isn't going away. It's not fear that keeps you from
success. It's your inability to deal with it.
The first step in dealing with your fear is to change your
beliefs about it. Change the way you think about fear and you
change your reaction to it. Fear can be healthy. Think about it.
It is fear that gives you the powerful adrenaline rush so that
you will have the ability to flee from a situation that is truly
unsafe or the same adrenaline rush to fight to win! Yes, fear is
a gift, instilled in you to keep you safe and lead you to faith.
Fear can be your green light to GO!
So why do people allow this gift to negatively control their
actions, their beliefs, and ultimately their lives? Well, it has
a lot to do with making a distinct difference between your
instinct and your intellect.
As a child you would react instinctively to fear. This was
acceptable behavior for you then. But, over time, you developed
habits of behavior that today cause you to react to fear instead
of act. You react instinctively to fear by running from it,
ignoring it, sabotaging your efforts, or quitting the very dream
you said you wanted. These habits of behavior are programmed
into you. To interrupt these negative behaviors you need to use
you intellect and act in your fear.
Every person has fear. The successful have learned to befriend
their fear. They don't react in their fear. They act in it -
walking through their fear.
You might be saying, "Sure, Lisa. That's easy for them. But my
situation is different!" Maybe so. But remember one thing. Every
person has the same weapon to help them act in their fear. Every
person has the gift of faith. The way to befriend fear is to
neutralize it with its opposite - which is faith. Is your faith
stronger than your fear?
Where faith is dominant fear is silenced. Faith is like a
multivitamin on steroids! It is faith that fosters hope,
courage, boldness, and conviction. These are all the ingredients
you need to conquer fear.
The headline of a recent USA Today read, "Faith is more
important than food." That was the conclusion of a remarkable
medical report, which studied the correlation between stress and
ulcers. The report cited that ulcers were by-products of
anxiety, worry, and fear. It went on to discuss how faith is the
most powerful cure for a patient suffering from an ulcer.
Even the medical community recognizes the power of faith. To an
ulcer patient writhing in pain, faith is more important than
food. But, this truth applies also to healthy people as well. It
applies to parents doing all they can to raise healthy, happy
kids. It applies to spouses trying hard to keep their marriage
alive or even keeping it together. Faith applies to
professionals working to build their business. The bigger the
goal - the bigger need for faith.
But what really is faith?
Webster's definition of faith is "belief, trust, or reliance."
The Apostle Paul's definition is "Faith is the assurance of
things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen." Do you
have the assurance of things hoped for, and a strong conviction
that, you have all you need to make your life work? Well-known
author, Max Lucado, explains faith in the following story:
Imagine that you are an ice skater in competition. You are in
first place with one more round to go. If you perform well, the
trophy is yours.
Then, only minutes before your performance, your trainer rushes
to you with the thrilling news: "You've already won! The judges
tabulated the scores, and the person in second place can't catch
you. You are too far ahead."
Upon hearing the news, how will you feel? How will you skate?
How about courageously and confidently? You will do your best
because the prize is yours!
Live your life like you've already won. Walk into that job
interview like you've already got the job. Ask that girl out on
a date like she's already said yes. Ask for that sale like
you've already made it!
Albert Camus, W.H. Auden, and Ann Landers exposed our fear. Fear
exists. But you can conquer fear and neutralize its power by
cultivating your faith. Have an assurance of things hoped for
and a conviction of things not seen and you will create hope,
boldness, and courage, and begin living the life you dream of.
