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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SDSU chapter.

People are afraid of a lot of different things. People fear failure, success, rejection, loss, humiliation and uncertainty. Often you learn a lot more from your failures than your successes. Many people won’t try something new because of the fear of failure. Gradually knocking out the fear of failure means that you can carry on and act upon the decisions. Fear holds us back from our goals and dreams which is why overcoming fear is so important. Fear comes from our minds and imagination. Since fear stems from our minds and imagination, we have the power to overcome them.  

Research has shown that only eight percent of the fears are predicted to happen.  

Being aware of your fears is the first step to overcoming them. Fear-setting is a helpful tool for ways of overcoming fear. After you’re aware of the fear, in one column write down the worst-case scenarios, and then think of ways you can prevent them from happening. For example, if you want to go on a trip but are afraid of missing important mail you can prevent this by changing your address. Then think about ways you can resolve the issue if the worst-case scenario happens. Next, think about the benefits of attempting what you want to do. If you attempted what you are considering, what skills would you gain? Lastly, it is important to take into consideration the cost of inaction. What would your life look like in a year if you did not attempt the action? After taking a deeper look at your fears, you can determine whether or not the thing you want to do will have a greater positive impact or negative impact.   

Fear of the unknown is a common fear that affects many people. If the fear is based on lack of information, a way of overcoming this is by educating yourself so you can examine the circumstance with facts rather than speculation. In addition to fear of the unknown, another common fear is public speaking. Public speaking is performed in front of many people. If fear is related to an activity, you can overcome this fear by preparing and practicing. Peer pressure can be negative or positive. However, people can help push you to overcome your fears. Also many have a fear of doing something again if it did not turn out the way they wanted it to for the first time. A way of overcoming this fear is to determine what went wrong the first time and try something different.   

Thinking about your fears, addressing them and tackling them head-on can lead to amazing opportunities. Overcoming a fear decreases anxiety and increases happiness. People with positive attitudes are successful because they don’t give up. Instead of worrying, use fear as motivation so that you can move on and accomplish the things you want to do in your life. By overcoming fear, you can improve your life, inspire others and make a positive impact on the world.

“Being brave isn’t the absence of fear. Being brave is having that fear but finding a way through it” (Bear Grylls).

 

Hey, hey! I'm Caitlyn! I am majoring in Business Administration Marketing at San Diego State University. I enjoy going to the beach, surfing, watching movies, exploring and trying new things. I also love hanging out at cute coffee shops.
Emily is the Campus Correspondent for Her Campus SDSU. She is a 4th year journalism student from Chicago, IL. At SDSU, she is in Kappa Delta, is the Social Media Director of Rho Lambda and the Vice President Membership of Order of Omega. Emily's favorite hobbies are dancing, online shopping, planning out her Instagram feed, blogging and going to Disneyland. On a daily basis, you can find her glued to her laptop writing blog posts and editing Youtube videos. In the future, she wants to work for the Walt Disney Company on their social media marketing and communications corporate team. Emily's strong passion for digital media & content creation makes her very proud to be a member of the Her Campus team!