Moving Beyond Your Fears.

I snapped this picture of a herd of elephants on our descent. Don’t they remind you of the small plastic animals children play with?

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What are you afraid of?

1. Spiders
2. Darkness
3. Heights
4. Public Speaking
5. Failure
6. Death
7. Flying
8. Snakes
9. Needles
10. Germs

Were any of these fears on your list? Probably, given they are among the most common.

We are all afraid of something and, like family mysteries; fears represent another connection we share. Fears prevent us from fully embracing life so let’s help each other banish them!

Why are you afraid?

Understanding the cause of your fears is the first step in eliminating them. What reasons pertain to you? My fears are:

a). associated with a personal traumatic event

b). related to something I want to achieve

c). linked to an incident involving someone I know

d). connected to a world tragedy

e). similar to my friends or family

f). illogical and irrelevant to anything I’ve experienced

Some fears are rooted in actual experiences while others reflect learned behaviour. Resolution may require counselling in certain cases but there are options available to benefit most of us.

3 Ways To Start Banishing Your Fears Right Now

Select one fear then:

1. List exactly how it is preventing you from enjoying your life. A fear of flying prevents you from travelling to many places in the world.
2. Take one small first step. If you’re afraid of public speaking, practice a 30 second speech with a friend.
3. Reframe your fear and only keep the good in it. A fear of failure will make you cautious and organized in whatever you do.

These words may help you, too.

My fear of failure kept me from self-publishing The Inheritance. I’ve always wanted to be a writer and this fear was preventing me from realizing my dream. How did I move beyond my fear of failure and release my book?

My father’s words shortly before he succumbed to cancer in January 2008 gave me the courage I needed. Much of what he told me will remain our secret but I will paraphrase some of what we shared now.

Enjoy your life, my father said, and stop worrying so much. You can’t change anything by worrying. It’s just a waste of time. Do what you want to now, Marianne, because life goes too fast.

My father had been a successful entrepreneur and I slowly came to the realization that self-publishing is an entrepreneurial approach, which is revolutionizing the literary world. I decided to follow in my father’s footsteps and allow the spirit of his final words to help me realize my dream

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My father’s words were an inheritance that changed my life. We all share a kinship and I hope that they may also help you move beyond your fears and achieve your dreams.

How have you moved beyond your fears? I’d welcome your comments.

Fears sometimes defy logic and my fear of heights makes no sense. Standing on the balcony of a third floor apartment gives me vertigo but I have gone for a ride in a hot-air balloon and stood on the 124^th floor of the world’s tallest building. I hope you enjoy these pictures!