Understanding Doubt and Fear

In the last article we pointed out the 2 main obstacles people face when they are moving towards their goals; doubt and fear.

A quick review of doubt is required here before we move onto addressing fear. As far as obstacles go doubt can be a real goal killer.

The main reason for this is that doubt lurks. It lurks in the corners of your mind that you feel you cannot control or that you have the most trouble controlling. Doubt lurks in your sub-conscious mind. To get a grip on your doubt you need to replace the negative thoughts that it creates with positive thoughts: positive thoughts that make you feel good. You know that when you feel good, you will have more positive thoughts and then you will take inspired action towards your goal and then achieve the desired results.

Zapping your doubt with positive thought or affirmations is a practiced skill. You can master the skill though with some time, patience and a journal. As you go through your day, simply write in a private journal the negative thought or doubt that has crossed your mind and then in the back of your journal, or in the middle with a bookmark – start your positive journal. Simply re-write it with a positive spin that makes you feel good. In short order your conscious mind, as it reads and repeats your positive notes will "convince" your subconscious mind that the positive statement is true and the negative or doubtful statement should be dismissed at all times.

All you have done here is start essentially 2 journals. One records your doubt and negative thoughts while the other records your positive thoughts and what someday may become your series of goals. Read, with intent and purpose, your positive journal every night before you go to bed and every morning when you get up: you will soon see amazing results.

Fear. Here is a topic that could be summed up in a couple of words or could take a lifetime to conquer. It really is up to the person addressing it. We all decide to avoid something, or to delay something, or to cancel something because we are "afraid" of the results. We may have a fear that the situation will make us uncomfortable. We may have a fear that the other person involved may disappoint us. Maybe the fear is that we don't deserve the raise, or deserve the job. There are times when we really have a burning desire to do or accomplish something that quite possibly could be the difference between absolute abundance or staying in our comfort zone – where we are right now. Many of us will take the time to research and establish all the details about this once in a lifetime opportunity. It could be a transfer to a new city, a new job offer that provides more for you and your family or an opportunity to start a new business venture with your cousin Vinny.

Mo matter how excited you get about the project, you all of a sudden start feeling little pangs of fear. This fear just starts to compound. Fear compounds much quicker than a financial investment. Once it starts there is only one way to stop it and that is with laser beam focus.

Now that does not mean that you disregard your fear and just jump into everything you think of. All it means is that as you research a task or opportunity and you have "crossed your t's and dotted your I's" you should not allow fear to dissuade your decision to move forward.

Fear is like doubt: there are many ways to look at it and address it. In the next article we will talk about a couple of ways to look at fear, one of which has allowed us to absolutely control our fear. Not to eliminate it but to control it, understand it and ultimately move through it.