Image Source

I recalled a saying “A ship is safe in the harbour, but that is not the place it is meant to be.” Nobody will build a ship so that it can just stay safe in harbour. The ship needs to cross vast seas and oceans ferrying goods or passengers. If you allowed yourself to be held ransom by fear, then you and your life is just like the ship that is safe in the harbour. You will find yourself paralyzed by fear unable to venture out of your comfort zone.
You have dreams and goals. Perhaps you want to start your own business, have a better career, travel around the world or just ask a beautiful lady for a date. But in your head, the “what if” questions keep ringing in your head. “What if my business fail?” “What if the lady says no to me?” “What if I am not good enough?” “What if I do not deserve the dream?” “What if I really succeed?” Our fears have held us back doing and achieving so many things that they are the number one cause of our regrets. It is very sad indeed if our fears are holding us back from being truly and fully alive.
It is said that danger is real, but fear is optional. In a lot of circumstances, the fear exists only in our mind. We need to face our fears head on, summon our courage to act despite our fears. I do not want this post to be purely hypothetical, therefore I want to share with you 2 instances whereby I was able to conquer my fears and other 2 instances where I failed.

Image Source

Case 1: Venturing Out Of My Village

When I was barely 7 years old I left my remote village of Tebakang to stay with my elder sister in Kuching so that I can attend primary school there. Although this happen almost 50 years ago, I could still recalled the day I left my village in a pick up truck on a wet and rainy day with the road flooded. I kept on telling myself that I must be brave, I must not cry as I waved goodbye to my mother who was clad in a sarong. Perhaps I was too young to really comprehend the fear of the unknown and the fear of uncertainty. But it is through education that I was able to break free from the chains of poverty and eventually managed to raised up the ranks to become a senior government officer.

Case 2: My 24-day Trans-Mongolia Adventure

This holiday has been on my bucket list for quite some time and one of the reasons that I did not take the trip earlier was some of the fears that I had. My wife Roselind and I, would be virtually on our own the whole duration of the trip. English is not widely spoken in both Mongolia and Russia. A lot of what if questions played in mind. “What if we got lost?” What if we got robbed?” What if some thing unexpected or something bad happened?”. I did a lot of research and found that it was quite safe for us to make the trip. Even on the day, I left Kuching, there were still some fears left but I told myself I should take basic safety precautions and if anything were to crop up, I will deal with it when it happens. So that trip was actually the adventure of my lifetime and the trip went on smoothly and nothing bad happened.

While writing this post, I reflected on the times when fear took hold of me and here I would like to share two instances.

Image Source

3 Wounded During Taekwondo

While I was in university, I took Taekwondo classes. I am more of a bookworm than a sports enthusiast, but I thought that I would give Taekwondo a try for the exercise and at the same time learn some self-defence skills. I graduated from white belt to brown belt. One day during a sparring session, I was injured just above my left eye. The injury required a few stiches and even now the scar is still there. While the scar has healed, I have yet to overcome this fear. Initially I told myself that I should take a few weeks rest, but the weeks turned into months and I eventually graduated from university without taking another Taekwondo lessons since my injury. Looking back now, the problem was that I did not want to acknowledge at that time that I fear that I may get injured again, and the next time, the injury maybe even more serious. I had forgotten about this incident but time permitting I should consider seriously taking up martial arts again.

Image Source

4 Fear Of Pain, Needles and Other Sharp Objects.

Due to my fear of pain, I really hate to go to the dentist. I practically had to force myself to go for my dental appointment every 6 months. I also felt that it would be cool to get a tattoo but my fear of pain and needles take precedence. My current thinking is that the tattoo is not worth the pain that I have to go through. Perhaps one day in the near future, I may change my mind.

So what fears have you overcome and what fears are still holding you back. Unless you let go of your fears, you will not discover your true potential.

Follow me and stay positive.

Do check out my previous posts.

Of Peking Duck And Duck Burger: The Traditional And The Contemporary
My Trans-Mongolia Adventure Tips For Traveling From Beijing, China To St Petersberg, Russia
Success Is A Journey: We Need To Do Today What We Want To Achieve Tomorrow

Spreading positivity one post at a time.
Charles

If you like my writing please up-vote, share and comment. Please help me to spread the message of positivity and support on Steemit by resteeming this post.