Our deepest, darkest, most numbing fears aren’t spiders, rats, or snakes. While they may frighten us, our fear of spiders and such, probably won’t lead us to live a small, insignificant life. Fear of failure will.

We fear insignificance, and never truly experiencing the vast adventures that life can potentially offer us if we have the courage that they require of us. We fear that we’re headed on a road that will leave us alone in our beds, with regret as our only companion as we face whatever comes next.

Although fear can make us live small lives spent worrying about trivial things as great adventures pass us by, it can also be the solution to the problem, and the riddle that life throws at us daily: Why are we here?

Fear can keep us living the small, insignificant lives that are in direct opposition to the lives we lead in our dreams, when our souls are free to feel, think, and explore a world without limitation.

“Each time we face our fear, we gain strength, courage, and confidence in the doing.”

The greatest obstacles in life are always internal

They’re our fears, laziness, a belief that we’re not worthy of our dreams and ambitions. The obstacles, being internal, are then solved in the same space.

When you face your fears, you break down your obstacles and create a newer, better version of yourself that does have the belief and confidence needed to accomplish the loftier of our dreams.

The majority, however, never embark on the difficult journey that every great man or woman has taken, ultimately because of the internal forces like fear and laziness. They feel it’s easier to remain, and more difficult to gain and grow. But the dangers in remaining just where we are in life, for the rest of our lives, is far greater than any battle we can involve ourselves in, even if that battle is with our own fear.

To not face fear and move towards the life we truly want in our souls, is to ignore our spirit’s compass that tells us what we want out of this existence that may be brief, but it should also be glorious.

Move Towards Your Fears. Don’t Run From Them.

Fear is often coupled with adventure, as it should be. A life lived in the pursuit of adventure is a life that truly embodies the essence of living. There’s a reason why the excitement and the thrill of an adventure is so intoxicating. It goes far beyond the release of endorphins that give us a natural high. Adventure is an experience that makes us feel alive. In this case fear is something we should move towards, not run from.

But fear should also be mentioned with our most audacious dreams. It’s fear that stops us from living a fulfilled life, but it’s also fear that shows us what really matters in life.

Who are you most afraid of losing in your life?

Spend more time with those people than any others.

What would you be most afraid to attempt, and possibly fail at?

Do that. If “that” is starting your own business, then take the risk and grow as a result of merely taking that risk. If “that” is traveling, then travel, and grow from the experience of breaking free of the bubble you’ve lived within your entire life.

The greatest crime we could ever commit is in not attempting those things in our lives that would excite us, fulfil us, and allow us to die without regret.

In other words, safety is our greatest crime.

Let your fear guide you towards who, and what, matters most to you. Don’t let it deter you from living the life you have always known you want to live. That life you live every night as you lay down and enter the world you’d truly like to exist in. The world where you conquer every one of your fears, live with courage, bravery, and are the hero of a story that you write. Your fear has no part in this narrative as an obstacle.

3 Actions Steps You Need To Take Right Now

Here are 3 actions steps you can take right now to use fear to your advantage.

1. Find a mentor

What does finding a mentor have to do with facing fears?

Simple, proof. We need proof that even dreams greater than our own can be accomplished by people who were even further back when they started than we are right now.

Your greatest dream is what you fear most, as is embarking on a road that will test your potential and your resilience. Study a single person who’s accomplished something you’d love to accomplish. Find out what it took to get there, and see that you, too, can do anything you want with your life if you’re willing to risk and work.

2. Write down your dream

Get your greatest dreams on paper. Tell someone about them. Put them out there and make them known to the world. Don’t keep them hidden.

3. Break it down

It’s great to have dreams, but they’re useless without action. Be that guy that faces fears in his actions, not just with his mouth or in his dreams.

Identify action steps you’re going to take…

• Today (start today!)
• This month
• This quarter
• Before the year is done

Don’t go beyond this year. Keep everything in the immediate future, and revisit these actions steps once a week on Sundays where you can check them off and add more.