October 9, 2015 - Written by: Sana Sarwar

6 Top Tips for Facing your Fears

Fact: Fear is an inevitable feeling you’ll experience during your way up in life and is a feeling people should not be ashamed about.

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To have success you need to have gone through failure and to some extent a little fear. That’s why I’ve come to the idea that fear is something that needs to be embraced. I know this sounds crazy, but fear can become a reason to be ambitious and tenacious, therefore acting as a positive force on your journey to success.

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Having said that, I’ve compiled a list of my top tips for facing your fears:

1. Learn to realise that failure isn’t all bad.

It’s actually a learning opportunity and teaches us valuable things on our way up to success, so we don’t make the same mistake twice.

2. Don’t be so hard on yourself, when you fail.

Everyone has a flaw, and will fall flat on their face more than once in their lives, I guarantee it. It just depends on the individual what they make of that failure, and its up to them to make it a driving force for a positive change.

3. Learn to forgive yourself.

One mistake does not define you. Be mindful of negative thoughts and make a conscious effort to silence them. There is nothing productive about obsessively cataloguing and dwelling on the past. Although it’s easier said than done you just need to shrug your shoulders and move on, mulling things over in your brain does nothing, taking action will.

4. Celebrate your former successes.

Instead of creating a negative narrative about how likely you are to fail, remind yourself of how you have excelled in the past. What I like to do is write my achievements down so I can appreciate the things that have gone right for me – no matter how small the success might of been. Remember that every success, no matter how small, should be celebrated.

5. Relax your body – it will help calm your mind.

Slow your breathing, unclench your jaw, drop your shoulders and unfurrow your brow. This is something I would ensure before going into something stressful like an exam. It’s important not to be tense or stressed before completing a task – sometimes you just need to chill.

4. Ask for help.

Expressing your fears and discussing them with others is invaluable. People feel ashamed to talk about their failures and asking for help when it’s something that is a universal experience, it’s time to start talking about it.

If you enjoyed this article, why not check out ‘How To Deal When Your Fear Becomes Reality’?