We have all seen and heard the many acronyms for the word fear, with False Evidence Appearing Real being the most common of them all.

I would like to approach the subject of fear from a different perspective. I think fear is a positive and healthy emotion. In fact, I believe fear is one the greatest agents of change that exists in the universe.

Wake Up & Pay Attention

Fear is an emotion we have all experienced at one time or another in our lives. There's nothing like a good healthy dose of fear if you are in need of a wake-up call. Fear certainly has the capacity to snap you to attention if you aren't focused. It can literally grab you by your thoughts, activate your emotion bank, and leave you in a cold sweat. It's a powerful little agent of disruption, this emotional stimulant we call fear.

"Something is about to happen you are not prepared for...wake up!" ~ Fear

Fear Factor Defined: The extent to which a person's fear keeps him or her from doing something, any feeling of fear that prevents an action.

A fear factor can be so heightened in intensity that it legitimately freezes an individual, prevents, or limits him or her from taking action. People can be so inhibited by fear that they will refuse to open an envelope out of fear of the contents. Fear is an emotional response to an expected or unexpected consequence that can truly spiral out of control if we fail to embrace our fears as positive action alerts.

Breaking Through Fear

There are five powerful steps you can take to manage and ultimately break through your personal fears. Before we can understand the plan of action, we must answer the two important questions described below. The fact is most fear is tied to one or more of these three areas that activate the emotion:

Fear of Failure
Fear of Loss
Fear of Harm

Question One: In what areas of your life has the fear of failure, harm, or loss potentially been holding you back? Be candid with your answers!

Question Two: If you think back and revisit the last few times you experienced fear, what was the activating source or sources of that emotional feeling?

The Fear Management Plan

Step One: Change your state of mind from fearful to calm and relaxed. Take any and all actions that help you shift your emotions into this realm immediately.

Step Two: Write down everything you are feeling in detail. Putting it on paper helps reduce the emotional intensity associated with the fear.

Step Three: Question the fear down by asking better questions. What is the first thing I must do to address this issue? What is the outcome I would like to create? What must I do personally to handle this situation in the right manner? Who else do I need to work with regarding this matter? The more you ask and answer, the more your fears will diminish as your plan formulates.

Step Four: Make a list of three simple actions you must take now in order to immediately begin to respond to the circumstance. Turn the actions into "I will" statements, and date and sign the personal commitment to act.

Step Five: Take action. Even if the actions are painful in nature, they are better than the result of being frozen by fear. The majority of your fear-based issues are much more easy to manage than you realize. When you begin to act, you will draw this conclusion quickly.

Don't bury yourself under useless worry and stress. Instead, climb through fear towards a brighter day. I promise you will get through these moments and learn the emotion of fear actually helped you take action before a minor problem turned into a big problem.

Make a difference today.

Remember, It All Matters,

— Paul

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About the author: For over 30 years, Paul Cummings has taught dynamic life changing strategies on sales, customer service, communication, building a better business, and leadership. Millions have had the opportunity to learn what it means to live and work at Level 10.