Replacing Fear

Before going forward, we must remember that we cannot be afraid to try. Before we begin, we have to remember to leave our fear at the door. This is no time to be afraid. Instead, now is the time to put things in perspective.
Before we move on, we are going to replace the word fear with the word respect. Therefore, we are not afraid of our competition. Instead, we respect them.

Rather than give in to fear, or better yet, rather than assume the problems we will face or give into the idea of unknown and impending failure (or danger), and rather than succumb to the ideas of an uncertain future; and before we quit or retreat because of our concerns and give in to intimidation, we can create the decision to have a plan of attack.

We must remember that before going forward, we cannot be afraid to try. We cannot be afraid to take a shot and miss— and even if we miss, even more so now than ever before, we cannot be afraid to aim and try again.

Imagine yourself out there, somewhere, lost and alone. You are cold. You are hungry and there is only one way you could eat. Imagine you are starving to the point where all you have left is animal instinct; would you still be afraid to try and feed yourself?

If life or death in any situation were real, how would you answer your call to action?
Would you advance?
Or would you simply give in?
Would you submit to your circumstance and forfeit your chances?
Or would you decide to allow yourself the tenacity to hunt and satisfy your hunger?

This is the difference between those who advance in life and those who remain stagnant and simply survive.

We all have to remember that nothing big comes easy.
Nothing is free.
None of our big dreams come without rolling up our sleeves and putting in a bit of elbow grease.
Life requires work.
To live, to love and to learn all requires a little effort on our part. Sometimes this hurts. Sometimes we will feel the aches and pains.
We will experience loss. We will face adversity. We will see tragedy. We will shoot and we will miss and there will be times when we feel so tired and broken that we are not even sure if we can try again.
However, our goals demand a sense of responsibility because this is how we achieve our dreams.

Make no mistake about this, it takes a strong plan to achieve a dream. In which case, our dreams are a three-part process. First we see it. Then we achieve it. And next, we have to keep it.
All three parts are necessary to fuel our desire.

As we advance, we will see that our dreams will change.
Our views on life will change too. We will evolve and grow into a new perspective.
We will gain experience.
We will understand the efforts that worked in our favor and those that are less beneficial.

As we move forward, we will find that our intentions will change.
Our directions will change, which means our vision will change too.
As we evolve, our level of consciousness will advance to a new level of awareness. This will ultimately lead to an advance in our level of understanding, which becomes us at our best possible potential.

As we grow in our roles; whether our position to advance is academic or personal, or whether we choose to advance professionally and financially, the more we put into it, the more we will gain a sense of clarity.

Fear has no place in this process.
This is why we will make an adjustment in our vocabulary.
We will be replacing the term fear with the word respect.

Therefore, moving forward, we are no longer afraid of the process ahead of us. We are not afraid of the work.
Instead, we respect the process.
We respect the work ahead of us because this gives us value. Respect is a term of mutual honor. Fear on the other hand is the consideration of ideas that appear better than or degrade our ability.

Keep in mind, there are countless people out there that are afraid to try. Do we want to be one of them?
There is someone, everywhere, afraid to do and afraid to take a swing because they might miss.
Instead, they quit.
They also quit on the possibility to feel the thrill of what it means to hit a home run or knock the ball out of the park.

Before we begin, we cannot, must not, and will not give into the notion of fear. Fear is only as real as we allow it to be.

I am not afraid to walk in the wild; however, I respect the rules of the forest. Therefore, I honor my abilities with caution, which keeps me safe.
I am not afraid to cross the street; however, I respect the rules of the road. Therefore, I know how to be careful and not get hit.

Life is absolutely no different.
So keep this simple.
Allow yourself the honor, which means do not fear life.
Respect life.

Otherwise . . .
What kind of life do you have?
Are you living?
Or just existing?

The choice is up to you.