Let go of fear!

Each week when I write these Tips, I try to write them from a position of reality. I have learned that if I share with other people what I am currently learning myself, it will make a far greater impact on them. In general, I think it is true that we are able to help others when we share with them from the real- life experiences that we are currently going through or have personally faced in our own life.

In the past few weeks fear has raised its ugly head and tried to come back into my life to control me. Fear is a very negative emotion and one that we cannot afford to entertain if we want to have a successful life. If we do, it ultimately will motivate us to try to control situations rather than to influence them.

Sometimes fear becomes so familiar to us that we do not even label it as fear any longer. It is actually possible to become so used to feeling upset and anxious about every situation that we can get to a place where we do not even recognize it. In other words, the abnormal can soon becomes the normal. I know that often when real peace and serenity come into my life, I sometimes feel more uncomfortable with them than I do with fear.

Fear may actually be appropriate and useful in certain situations. It can protect us in the same way soldiers use fear to help them survive in a time of war. But, unless you are in an actual warfare situation, fear is probably not the best tool to use in your daily routine.

Abraham Maslow once said, "If the only tool you have is a hammer, you will tend to see everything as a nail." If the only tool we have is fear, then we will begin to react in almost any given situation with anxiety and anger. In other words, we will spend more time reacting to situations negatively and inappropriately than learning to respond to them positively and appropriately. Again, it is okay to listen to healthy fears but then we must let them go and follow a path of peace, trust, acceptance and safety.

I have a friend who told me that learning to live a life of peace was very difficult for him. He said that most of his life had seemed like he was driving down the road in a car without a windshield. All the heat, bugs and elements in the environment kept hitting him in the face, but in time, he had gotten used to it. "When I finally got into a car that had a windshield and air conditioning, it felt all wrong," he said. "I had been so used to living my life going from one crisis to another that when serenity entered my life, it felt very different and was difficult to learn to accept."

I suspect that many of you who read this Tip can identify with this. I have surrounded myself with people like you who are high achievers and do well in life. But, neither you nor I can afford to be driven by fear any longer! It only leads to anger, high blood pressure and anxiety.

Take a look at what is motivating your behavior. If it is fear, simply hold it in your hand tightly and then open your hand and let it go. It serves no real purpose. Welcome peace, love and serenity into your life. After all, that is the only real way to enjoy the life you are living!

This information is provided in congruence with Personality Insights USA.