Wednesday, August 8, 2007

How Do You Deal With Fear

Some people don't seem to be afraid of anything. They run up vertical mountain crags, tunnel their way through inky black underground caverns, and throw themselves out of aeroplanes to hang from a silk canopy and a few bits of string. They revel in physical and mental challenge. They get a kick from the adrenaline rush and the high of pushing themselves to their limits.

What is it about people who appear to have no fear at all? Is fear something you learn from growing up and constantly being reminded to take care of this and beware of that? Or do you have a choice whether or not to feel fear? Can it be overcome?
What about the fear you feel when you undertake a personal quest to discover more about yourself and become a more rounded and spiritually aware human being, knowing that you are going to challenge all the comfortable realities of your current life and strike out into unknown territory where nothing is known or familiar?

Fear is a healthy response to danger. It lets you know, with that sudden crackle of electricity through your body, that what you're about to attempt is big and very possibly dangerous or groundbreaking. So big, that there appears to be a deep chasm between you standing on the edge, and the safe haven on the other side.

It doesn't matter whether you're about to climb Mount Everest for the first time or change the way you live your life - the common factor is that fear is a barrier to the unknown. This is out of your experience and out of your comfort zone; perhaps you don't feel fully prepared or ready to take on that challenge.

Mountaineers, potholers and skydivers prepare so that they minimise the risks and protect themselves. Sure they still feel fear when they put a foot wrong, or a rope snags. It's a reminder that they need to take care and to pay special attention. But they have learned from experience not to let that fear control them so that their vision, commitment and skill become clouded.

You have that experience right there inside you to recognise when fear clouds your purpose and you falter. You really do. That experience comes from having understood that you have a journey to make and a goal to accomplish and that you are ready for the task ahead. You prepare yourself by learning how to live your life better and in an open hearted, loving way. You anticipate difficulties by learning how to deal with your emotions so that you can face the world without fear of the unknown.

And in reaching your goals you need have no fear, because you have replaced it with courage.

Neel Raman, is an author, keynote speaker and coach to many. He has written ‘Hoops and Freedom’, an informative and powerful self-improvement book, in the form of an entertaining fiction story, targeted at those who want and demand more from life. To find out more about this book and his FREE offers, visit: http://www.HoopsAndFreedom.com

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Kick Your Self Out of Your Comfort Zone

One of the great things about teaching improv comedy is that I get to see people stretch themselves and do things they never thought possible. For most people, improv comedy is out of their comfort zone. Watching a person step out of their comfort zone and gradually (or sometimes even rapidly) expand their comfort zone is a wonderful thing.

This concept applies to much more than just improv comedy. Getting out of your comfort zone is vital to any kind of success and to your own development, because all success lies outside of your comfort zone. Here’s an important fact that most people never think about: unless you are 100% satisfied with everything in your life, you must get out of your comfort zone!

To rephrase that: if there is any area of your life where you are not getting the success you want and deserve, you have to get out of your comfort zone to get it.

There is a quote that sums up why this is true. “If you keep doing what you’ve always done then you’ll keep getting what you’ve always gotten.” If what you’ve always gotten (and are currently getting) is not what you want, then you need to do something different. Unfortunately, “different” is usually outside of your comfort zone. If you could just do what you were already comfortable with to achieve your success, you’d already be doing it.

The problem is that we don’t like getting out of our comfort zones. The word “comfort” is used deliberately. That means that getting out of your comfort zone is “uncomfortable.” Naturally, we don’t like to be uncomfortable.

The mentality that keeps us in our comfort zone is subtle though, and often comes up in the form of avoidance. That is, we don’t say, “I could have what I want, it’s just that it’s outside of my comfort zone.” Instead we blame externalities, “If people would just hire me then my business would be successful,” or we limit ourselves, “Oh, I could never do that.” In the worst case, we ignore it all together. We don’t think about what we want or could have, and we refuse to talk about. It remains a dream buried deep down in the back of our heads for years (regrettably, sometimes forever).

In my years of doing improvisational comedy, I hear the same suggestions over and over (audiences love to yell, “bathroom” for a location and “spatula” for an object – don’t ask me why!). There is a strong temptation to “re-use” old material. If I have done a joke or scene based on that suggestion previously, I may want to repeat it since I know it worked before. In fact, I have seen many; many improvisers go down this route. Re-doing on old scene is a classic “comfort zone” technique.

I learned early on however that a joke or scene never works as well the second time around. In improv, it’s the act of doing something new (stepping out of the comfort zone) that increases the enjoyment and quality. Once it has been done and is comfortable, something is missing.

Life works the same way. Staying in the comfort zone feels safe and good, but the quality is never the same. If there is *any* are of your life that you want to improve, then you must get out of your comfort zone!

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This article is an excerpt from Avish's book, "Improvise to Success!" To learn about the whole book, visit http://www.AvishParashar.com/store.asp

Avish Parashar is a dynamic professional speaker who shows organizations and individuals how to get what they want using the Art and Science of improv comedy. He weaves together humorous stories, witty observations, and interactive exercises from improvisational comedy to get people laughing, learning, and motivated!

For more free articles, downloads, and resources, visit: http://www.AvishParashar.com

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