Overcome Your Fears by Facing them Head on
John F. Kennedy said, “The only thing that we have to fear is fear itself.” A friend of mine once told me that fear stands for forget everything and run. I thought what he said was very funny. Unfortunately, many people do exactly that, they avoid their fears. People have different fears. Some people are scared to fly in airplanes, some people are afraid to open up their own business, while others might be afraid to swim. The bottom line is people all over the world have fears.
I have always been afraid of roller coasters and thrill rides. I have no idea how it started but since my youth, I have been terrified of these thrill rides. When I was in high school, my friends and I would go to Walt Disney World. My friends would make fun of me because I would be screaming on rides like Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain. I would never go to Busch Gardens with them because they had all the big roller coasters there. My friends wanted to see me scared so bad that they would offer to pay my way if I went with them. Space Mountain was the biggest coaster I had ever been on. I know you thrill park maniacs are laughing right now because Space Mountain is considered very tame compared to all of the new thrill rides of today. I have always wanted to ride them but for some strange reason I was just scared to death.
When I started to listen to motivational speakers about eleven years ago, they would talk about overcoming your fears. Listening to this wisdom helped me over the years in the business world. I would never be afraid to take on risks in the business world. This made me very successful at whatever I chose to do. I loved challenges, no matter how big they were. Challenges always got me very excited, they would motivate me to achieve, no matter how difficult the task ahead of me was. Humans have an awesome ability to overcome challenges and adversity. People have been known to do incredible things when they were in danger. We have an amazing ability to achieve. That is how we are programed. Many of us can get in our own way of our achievements because we are scared of the outcomes. That makes us our own worst enemies. So many people are afraid to take risks.
How do we Overcome this?
The only way to overcome our fears is by facing them head on. We have to build up the courage and just do it. Ever since 1994 when Disney open its attraction the “Tower of Terror” and I always told myself I wouldn’t ride that if you paid me 100,000 dollars. I honestly thought that my heart would stop. This is the free fall simulation ride that drops you from a 13 story free fall then pulls you back up only to drop you again. The total ride is anywhere from 3-5 drops depending on a random computer sequence that gives you a different experience every time you ride it. I wouldn’t ever consider this ride before I started my career as a motivational speaker. However, I don’t like to tell my readers to do something unless I would do it myself. I knew that my fear of thrill rides was just a matter of mind over matter.
I got to Disney Hollywood Studios where the ride is located, where it stands at 199 feet tall. Just looking at the building was enough to scare me, but I knew what I was there for, I was there to overcome my fear of thrill rides. I was no longer going to be scared because I was going to overcome my fears. I walked around a little bit and tried to avoid it, but I knew I had to do it. I wasn’t ever going to back down from a thrill ride again. I got in line and there I was, at the point of no return. I couldn’t believe I was going to ride the “Tower of Terror”. I was going to ride something that I had been terrified of for the last fourteen years. I got strapped in and there was this calm that came over me because I knew I was achieving something. It wasn’t long before we got going. Up and down and up and down, it was so intense I couldn’t believe it. It dropped so fast that I would rise off my seat, then it would pull you back up to drop you again. When the ride was over, I felt awesome. I knew I had done something that I always thought I would never do. I couldn’t believe how much fun it was. Now I am looking to try every thrill ride in town with an enthusiasm I thought was impossible for me. I felt so awesome all day knowing I had overcome my biggest fear. Was I scared, you bet I was scared. When we get scared our body gives us the courage to handle it, we just have to have the faith in ourselves.
I am encouraging you to face your fears head on. You are not on earth for a long time, you are here for a good time, so just do it. Really consider the words “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” It was so rewarding for me to overcome my fear. I want everyone to feel that feeling. You really can achieve anything you want, if you just want it bad enough. Do something you have always been afraid to do but face it with the mindset that you are not afraid. It will help you overcome any obstacle in your life.
Hooman Hamzehloui 2008
www.HoomanCan.com
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