[Image: Flickr user ] Orin Zebest Conquering fear is about self-awareness, wisdom, and understanding your strengths — often in the face of adversity. Luckily these are personality traits that you can practice. Fear has a place in our emotional life, and it shows up daily. Everything causes it: finding new work, dealing with financial uncertainty, creating something new, contemplating failure. By necessity, our minds are designed to let fear in — without it, we’d never survive. But how do you keep fear from impeding your ability to fulfill your potential? Conquering fear is about self-awareness, wisdom, and understanding your strengths — often in the face of adversity. You can practice and cultivate these personality traits, thank goodness, and it even gets easier over time. These seven principles helped me develop my courage: FOLLOW YOUR AUTHENTIC PURPOSE Acting fearlessly often means heading into uncharted territory, challenging conventional paths, or putting aside the need for safety and comfort. Where do you get the energy to do so? Usually from — your personal calling in life. The Indian philosopher Patanjali said: your authentic purpose “When you are inspired by some great purpose, all your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.” PREDICT YOUR FUTURE BY CREATING IT The fearless are busy creating their future. They and invent their way into it. Nobel Laureate Dennis Gabor in his book, , writes: visualize their future Inventing the Future “The future cannot be predicted, but futures can be invented. It was man’s ability to invent which has made human society what it is. The mental processes of inventions are still mysterious. They are rational but not logical, that is to say, not deductive.” Understanding exactly what we want is the foundation for our success. But executing that success requires taking the next step, every day, no matter how difficult it may be. That means you don’t get to sit around and wait for success. DO THINGS THAT OTHERS DON’T Taking unconventional paths requires taking risks for a greater reward (financial or otherwise). It takes courage to act differently than others might. Fearless people tend not to dwell on things, but are decisive — the unknown shouldn’t paralyze you. BEND, BUT DON’T BREAK Acting fearlessly means you have to . Because if you are, you’ll develop a mental capacity that lets you adapt, with ease, when things don’t go your way. Like bamboo, resilient types bend but rarely break. be resilient You also have to let go. That ability to let go drives a constant process of change — it’s what makes people flexible and adaptable. TURN EVERY OBSTACLE INTO AN ASSET Nelson Mandela in his teens, heard a tribal elder say, “These are our young men. They are our future. But the truth is they are second-class citizens…they will always be boys.” Mandela made a decision to change South Africa upon hearing this. And his decision changed the world. Fearless people work with what they have and turn obstacles into opportunities. They are at ease with challenges, disappointments, and rejections. Instead of setbacks, they try to see these events as gifts and find ways to utilize them to move forward. EMBRACE FAILURE University of California, Davis professor explains that creative geniuses, from Mozart to Darwin, are prolific when it comes to failure — they just don’t let their fear stop them. Failure is part of the process for these types. Creative people simply do more experiments, so they have more chances to be successful. Dean Keith Simonton SAY NO — MAKE TOUGH CALLS It takes more courage to say no than to say yes. But if you do it, you’ll protect yourself from making poor decisions. This tactic can help you stay focused and prevent unnecessary complexity and wrong turns. It can also keep you from getting involved with the wrong people. Dr. Judith Sills in writes: Psychology Today “There’s a lot of talk, and a lot to be said, for the power of Yes. Yes supports risk-taking, courage, and an open-hearted approach to life whose grace cannot be minimized. But no — a metal grate that slams shut the window between one’s self and the influence of others — is rarely celebrated. It’s a hidden power because it is both easily misunderstood and difficult to engage.” Read the original article @FastCompany or @LinkedIn . Copyright (c) 2016 by Faisal Hoque. All rights reserved. I am an . Founder of and other companies. Shadoka enables entrepreneurship, growth, and social impact. Author of “ ” (McGraw Hill, 2014) and “ ” (Motivational Press, 2015). Follow me on Twitter . entrepreneur and author SHADOKA Everything Connects — How to Transform and Lead in the Age of Creativity, Innovation and Sustainability Survive to Thrive: 27 Practices of Resilient Entrepreneurs, Innovators, and Leaders @faisal_hoque
