We all have a fear. Fear is what causes us to back out of certain events, choke up during oral presentations, or even wait till the last moment to write an article. Fear is been a emotion, a feeling, and a curse that’s crippled humans for years. With fear we are unable to truly live up to our fullest potential, and be the best that we can be. Of course, we create the fears that holds us back, and most of it is irrational. Fear is simply things that bubble up in our subconscious. We think of the worst case scenario instead of the most logical scenario, and now we’ve put ourselves in a position of powerlessness. We’ve allowed our emotions to override our intelligence. Now I am, as you could probably tell, writing this article to inform you guys on how not to let fear rule your life. You can’t let one emotion dictate your whole perspective of life. These are four simple steps that can help you conquer your fear.

The first step is to blatantly express to yourself what your fear is. You have to acknowledge that this is you fear. Now you might be saying “I already knew this why must I say it?” In my opinion I’ve found myself conquering my fears better when I’m able to express them into the space around them. I’ve now allowed my brain to register that I can no longer deny the thing that sends me into a spiral of panic, and anxiety. I have to face the music, and get this thing of my chest. Secondly, you should think back on how this fear arose. If it was simply because of something you watched, saw, read, or herd then you should in detail remember that memory. For instance, I used to be deathly afraid of horror movies, but then I recounted that the Saw trilogy was the first horror movie I saw as a child, and as a child seeing horror movies fills you with a sense of dread, and fear (the irrational fear, of course, as there is no real man in a jigsaw mask.). Now that I’m older thinking about Saw makes me laugh, because the challenges were simply silly, and anyone who would’ve tried to master them would’ve simply had to been crazy.

The third step is to simply find something funny about the fear. If you are afraid of bugs then think of movies like Ant Bully, Bug’s Life, or The Bee Movie. If you are afraid of giving public speeches, then the episode of Parks and Recreations called Flu Season. In this episode Leslie Knope, gives a speech with a high fever that should cause her to become incoherent, and probably pass out, but she gives the speech perfectly. This clip here will have you laughing, and probably build more confidence in yourself that if a sick, and almost dying woman can do that big of a speech than so can you. The fourth, and final step is to find some way to conquer your fear. With things such as speeches, or presentations it’ll be quiet easy as these assignments are always given in classes, and sometimes even at jobs. Now with things such as horror movies, spiders, or heights you’d have to work your way up to that point. Start off with something small such as a B-list Netflix film, going to one of the petting zoos where you can just look at the bugs, or just using the monkey bars at your local playground. The fourth step is one that is flexible, and can be used at your own speed. Take the time to make yourself comfortable, and work at your own pace. You may not be able to solve your fears in the time you want, but be patient, and it will happen.

Fear may cause you to be powerless, weak, and feel as if you can’t accomplish much, but just follow these steps, and move at your own pace, and you should be able to get the power back.