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Life Is A Teacher

Life is a teacher; the more we live the more we learn.

Monday, December 6, 2010

How to Take Risks and Abandon Your Fears


I have a little secret. Hmmm… should I tell you? What will you think of me?
You may know me as a recording artist, speaker, world traveler and songwriter. I appear on television. People think that people like me walk on water. Some think that we’re different than other people because we are in”full time ministry.” We walk through airports and some people even know our names. We must have connections and courage that most people just don’t have.
Of course, that’s all pretty ridiculous and couldn’t be further from the truth!
You see my little secret is that years ago, even while singing around the world, I lived so much of my life in fear.
Afraid of what people thought of me. How can they not like my chubby little face? LOL!
Afraid of failure? Hey, nobody wants to be a loser.
I was even afraid of success. You see I didn’t want anybody to think that I thought I was better than they are.
So for many years, I had some success, but never lived up to my God given potential. I used to pray, “God, if you will please just take away all my fears, I can do great things for you. If you take away my fears I can accomplish all the dreams that are hidden in my heart.”
But God never removed the fear.
You know why? Because God does not remove your fears. However… He will give you the words, courage and boldness to walk through your fears! You can overcome your fears.
Paul said, “Praying always with all prayer …. for all the saints and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, —Ephesians 6:18-19
If the Apostle Paul prayed for boldness and the right words to say, how much more do we?
I no longer fear people’s opinions. Sure I want to be liked, but it will never, ever hinder me from God’s plan for me. Failure? It happens. But if I fail, and we all do, I’ll just get back up, seek God’s way and keep moving ahead. Success? It’s a good thing. Put wealth and influence in the hands of the righteous and they’ll build God’s Kingdom.
So here are just a few ways to learn How to Take Risks and Abandon Your Fears. God will always do His part. Here is how we do our part.
It’s quite comfortable to sit back and keep the status quo. After all, if you don’t rock the boat, you can’t fall into the sea. But without risk, there are few rewards.
Abandon Your Fears
You already know that taking risks is risky. To build up the courage, you need to master your fears. However, it’s not as easy as it sounds. If you’ve spent the better part of your life with fear, it could be deeply engrained in your subconscious, but it’s not impossible to change. All you need now is the willingness to overcome your fears. If you really want to abandon your fears, there’s nothing that can stop you!
Here are some tips to keep fear at bay:
1. Recognize Your Fears. Recognize your fears for what they really are. You’ll soon discover how your fears are limiting you by your reactions to them.
• Let’s say you’re afraid of driving, if you’re ever in the driver’s seat your response might be a quick “Oh no! Get me out of here!” If you continue this pattern of thinking you’ll always be afraid. Accept that the fear is real, but challenge yourself to approach the situation with courage and inner strength.
2. Overcome Your Fears. Many times we’re afraid of something because it remains in the unknown. We might label something as risky because we don’t yet know or understand what’s going on.
• An example would be avoiding college because you’re afraid of meeting new people, the workload, and so on. To overcome this fear, you can get familiar with the college, the courses, and the people so you can feel more comfortable and confident. Doing so will ease the fear of the unknown and give you a sense of relief.
3. Change Your Thinking. If you can alter the way you think about a certain situation, you’ll then act differently. Your fears may overwhelm your thoughts at times, but your job is to put a stop to this.
• For example, if you think you’ll never be able to achieve your goals, you won’t. But if you believe in yourself, you’re far more likely to succeed!
How to Take Risks
Once you overcome your fears mentally, it’s time to take risks. Whether you realize it or not, you take risks everyday. Most risks are quite minor, but risk accompanies nearly every decision you make.
Follow these pointers to help you get into a risk taking mindset:
• A “risk” may sound negative; instead, think of it as more of an “adventure” or “journey.”
• Visualize a positive outcome.
• Consider the reasons why you’re hesitant to take a risk.
• When you have a set plan in place, taking a risk is a whole lot less threatening.
• When you’ve taken the leap, evaluate your experience so you can improve in the future.
• Self-confidence is the most important ingredient to success.
Putting it all Together
If you’re feeling tentative about the whole thing, get your feet wet with small steps. You can’t expect yourself to change drastically overnight, but at the same time you have to believe in yourself and believe that change is possible.
Overcoming fears and taking risks go hand in hand. Start small and dream big. You only have one journey on this earth, so you might as well make the most of it!

by Alvin Slaughter and resource team on September 22, 2009

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