Four Helpful Tips To Overcome Fear

One of my latest articles for the awesome company, MamaZen, was all about conquering mom fears. With a little bit of an adjustment, the tips also work when you use them to overcome other fears too — like fear of failure, fear of disappointing others (or yourself), and fear of not being true to yourself. Check them out to get the confidence boost you need to conquer your fears and reach higher heights.

Here are the four mom fears…tweaked to apply to anyone. (You can check out the article here).

First off, fear is natural. It’s an important emotion that can help us mitigate risk and be cautious when needed. However, if we let fear control our every move, it can become a major obstacle to growth and new experiences.

• Fear #1 – “What if I’m not meant to be a mom?” — Translation — “What if I’m not cut out to be __________.”
  We all have doubts. We all have moments where we question whether we should be in our current profession or if we can accomplish a certain task. We question whether we’re good enough for our partner. We wonder if we have what it takes to make it. Well, if we don’t try something — we’ll never know if we can do it. If we doubt our abilities, we can use that doubt as fuel to learn more and improve our skills. If you just keep doubting yourself and stop trying because you fear that you will fail, well, you won’t move forward.

• Mom-Fear #2 – “What if my kids don’t like me?” — Translation — “What if people don’t like me?”
  Well, this might come as a shock, but not everyone you come across is going to like you. It’s just impossible to please everybody, and since everyone is different, you’re not going to mesh well with every single person you meet. Stop focusing on whether people like you, and instead focus on being the best you that you can be for YOU.
  
  
• Mom-Fear #3 – “What if something happens to my kids?” — Translation — “What if something bad happens?”
  Newsflash — something bad is going to happen in your life at some point, probably more than once. It’s called life. You can’t prevent every single negative thing from happening. You can reduce them, sure, but you’ll never have everything perfect. The classic saying rings true – “Hope for the best, plan for the worst.” In other words, be prepared as you can, but still take chances. Build yourself a strong support network of family and friends that can rally around you in the bad moments, and remember, the bad stuff doesn’t define you – how you react to it does.

• Mom-Fear #4 – “What if I end up resenting my children?” — Translation — “What if I regret my choices?”
  You have control over your actions. If you think with even one shred of your being that you will regret a choice you’re going to make, or more likely, you’re going to regret not doing something – try it!

Sometimes, it’s better to try and fail and learn from it, then play it safe and always wonder what might have been.