It has been said that a person’s greatest enemy is fear. Fear is behind failures, sicknesses and poor human relationships. People are afraid of their past, the present, the future, old age, insanity and death. But fear is a thought in your mind. That means, you are afraid of your own mind!
It has been three years since the accident, but Erica still get’s paralyzed whenever she sees a large crowd of people. Her heart palpitates at a thousand miles per second, she would break out in hives and start to sweat profusely. From where she stood, everything in the room was all intertwined and chaotic. Erica had no perception of what was real and she is terrified.
Erica’s case might be a little extreme for you, but we all have our own share of fears and phobias that has left us terrified. Fear, has become a mystery for the ages, up until now we have been “afraid” to confront it because we did not want to experience the emotions that accompanied the feelings of fear.
Our subconscious mind is responsive to the suggestions we feed it. In fact it is controlled by suggestions. I began to truly appreciate the workings of the mind when I got into photography. Everything that goes on in our thoughts are photographic interpretations of what we perceive to be reality. The images whether fully developed on the mind’s screen or not, is every bit as real to the individual seeing it as though the object feared was right in front of them. Sad to say, but fear has more power over us than it should because we don’t use our minds to think things through. We merely act to stimuli as they occur. Fear is only a conglomeration of sinister shadows, and you and I know that shadows have no reality.
Stepping Out of the Shadows into the Light
The great 19th century poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Do the things you are afraid to do, and the death of fear is certain.”
There was a time, when I was filled with unutterable fear at the thought of doing weddings. But if I had given into that fear, I would not have had the joy of capturing and sharing in some of the most amazing love stories. The way I overcame this fear was to follow Emerson’s advice. Quaking on the inside, I would go on shoots where I was the second shooter and took pictures of weddings. Gradually, I became less fearful, until I was confident enough to  enjoy what I was doing on my own. You have to affirm positively to yourself that you are going to master your fears and come to a definite decision in your conscious thoughts. Once you do, you begin to release the power of your subconscious which flows in response to the nature of your thoughts.
It took me awhile to do what I am about to suggest you try, but it works! Find a quiet place to sit for 5 or 10 minutes and allow yourself to totally relax. Let’s suppose you are afraid of standing up in front of people to talk. Take a deep breath and begin to imagine yourself standing in front of an audience talking to people. Imagine that the people’s faces are pleasant and that they are listening to you attentively. By now, the scene in your mind should be all real, vivid and joyous. The more you continue to do this mental exercise, you will come to do it physically with ease and comfort. By shifting your thoughts, your actions have no choice but to follow.
Thoughts enveloped in the powerful emotions of fears are realized in the subconscious mind. In other words, when you keep repeating negative thoughts overs and over to yourself, in essence you are telling your subconscious to make sure it happens. Don’t be afraid of the monster hiding behind the door. There is no monster. You are just the victim of a false belief. Whenever you begin to feel fear stirring on the inside, stand up to it. Examine it, turn it around from side to side and look it straight in the eyes. Whenever you do that, your fear will shrink into insignificance. Place your attention on the things you desire, and start to develop a positive mental picture of it.
How much do you want what you want?
I heard a story about a young man who asked Socrates how he could get more wisdom and be like him. Socrates told the young man to come with him to the river. When they got there, Socrates shoved the young man’s head under water, and held it there until the boy began to struggle for air. Then he let him go. Once the boy regained his composure, Socrates asked him what he desired most when his head was under water. The boy replied that he wanted air. It was with that reply Socrates told the young man, “When you want wisdom as much as you wanted air when you were immersed in the water, you will receive it.”
Do you really want to banish the fears in your life. Do you really want to have what you talk about having? Well do the possible and begin to think about what you are thinking about and get into action.