Fears are one of the most frightening (yes, that's tautology) and powerful slowing factors. What's more, fears can spawn other slowing factors, such as prejudices and superstitions, which we'll discuss below.
Everyone has their own fears. For some it's the fear of starting their own business and trying themselves as an entrepreneur; for others it's fear of dogs; for others, bungee jumping. But do you need to fight every fear? I don't think so. Fear of starting your own business — definitely a fear to overcome, since it can directly affect your potential wellbeing. I'd also advise overcoming fear of dogs: dogs may not make you more successful, but we run into them often in life — in the park, at friends' or neighbours' homes, or just in the street. So you'll agree it's not pleasant to feel afraid every time you see a dog, and we see them quite often. But do you need to fight fear of bungee jumping? I don't think so. Why spend time on something you'll never encounter in life — unless you're literally tied to a bungee for some misconduct at work or at home. Or do you want to naively become someone who has conquered every fear people commonly have? Then I have bad news: the list of those fears is longer than your life. And in the end, after you die, you're unlikely to be remembered as the person who did bungee and parachute jumps, got on with snakes, mice, spiders, cockroaches, leopards and lions, swam with predatory fish, did mountaineering, deep-sea diving and visited the narrowest caves. Of course you can conquer all those fears and even meet sharks and lions and come out in one piece — but what's the point when humanity has so many fears? Concentrate your energy and desire on something truly important and valuable. It's normal to have fears; along with other feelings, fear shapes our individuality. But if your fears directly get in the way of your goals, you need to find ways to fight them.
In his book "Think and Grow Rich" Napoleon Hill identified six fears that one way or another affect everyone (or almost everyone):
- Fear of poverty
- Fear of criticism
- Fear of ill health
- Fear of loss of love
- Fear of old age
- Fear of death
In his view, these fears can strongly affect a person's life and goals. Hard to disagree — some of these fears affect even me. As I studied science I gradually went from believer to non-believer, so of course there's fear of death, but since I'm still fairly young that fear isn't very big. Fear of ill health, which can lead to death, bothers me much more. I always try to keep my health under control, get tests and check-ups on a schedule. Fear of illness, including serious illness, is why I hardly ever get colds — I pay a lot of attention to hygiene, hardening, sport and other things that strengthen my health. But when I do get sick I start running the worst scenarios in my head, and the saddest part is I can't work at all then; all concentration goes, partly from negative thoughts, partly from pain and discomfort. So I've turned one of my fears into a helper and try to do everything not to get colds or flu. Thanks to a strong immune system, even the rare cold I might get once every few years is over in a day, and then I can get back to work.
Don't expect any specific methods for fighting your fears in this section. Everyone's methods will likely be their own: some will manage on their own, others may need help from professionals. Don't waste time on rare, specific fears that won't affect your life at all — but do fight and keep under control all fears that get in the way of your personal and work goals.
