Either as a parent or as an observer of parents, you have probably seen that parents tend to keep their children in line with fear. You may have even practiced fear with your own children. Why do we do this? First, it is because we learned it at an early age from our parents, then our siblings, and then in the school system. The fear was fear of punishment of some sort. The punishment may have been physical. For example, the fear of a beating or of the strap at school. Or the fear may have been that something that was loved or valued would be taken away.
As we grew into adulthood, fear reinforcement became more public because the media (radio, TV, new outlets, blogs, streaming services, newspapers, magazines) publicize the things that we need to fear. It may be a terrorist, a bad flu strain/virus, any virus, or an example of scarcity. Scarcity of food, water and shelter are common themes when there is drought, too much rain, or other natural disasters.
Through out life, we go to school and we work. Once we have a job, the underlying fear is that your job will disappear, through no fault of your own. There are many recent examples of businesses laying off employees in Canada as oil prices fell, as the auto industry changed, and businesses like Sears Canada closed their doors. The fear is real and reinforced by the action that causes the fear.
And, there is always fear that is generated from an illness or disease. There is the fear of what will happen to me, what will happen to my family, and what will happen to my job/income. No one has great answers for these questions.
For some, it is the fear of failure that is the ruling fear in their lives. The person has been conditioned to always be successful which is an unrealistic expectation. The individual then moves forward with a continuous stress ever present in his/her life.
How do you overcome fear?
Well, the correct answer is simply to let go of fear. The challenge is that there are many methods people use to overcome fear. An interesting article called “33 Ways of Overcoming Fear Right Now” outlines all the different methodologies that people use. Check it out – https://www.wakeupcloud.com/overcoming-fear/ and see if something in this list resonates for you. Some folks may need to try several methods before they can choose one that works for them.
Walk in peace.
