The definition of fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is likely to cause pain. Common synonyms for fear include alarm, panic, agitation, trepidation, dread, consternation, dismay and distress.
Fear is that one thing that holds you back. I choose the term “one thing” because in most cases it is the one thing you are the most afraid of that can manifest itself in many ways and in many forms but it is my opinion that the root is usually found in the fear or anxiety attached to one thing.
Over the years I have hired and trained many hotel brokers. I wished I could tell you that all of them were successful and learned the business but that would incorrect. Everyone comes with their own customized set of luggage. I call it the baggage of life. It is the past pain and past failures that people carry with them through life. Unless this baggage is dealt with, you will carry it all the way to your funeral.
When I think of a person that has allowed fear to control them, I think of the metaphor of a lovely house on a beautiful street that termites have eaten the inside. The fear of action can cause someone to focus on cutting the grass and painting the shutters on a house that is falling apart on the inside. It looks good from the street but the inside is a mess. If the house is not fixed on the inside first, it will eventually began to fall apart on the outside. Many people you see today look good on the outside but are crumbling on the inside because of a fear that they have let overtake their life.
Fear is like a water leak in your house. It starts in one room and keeps spreading until it is all through the house. A water leak (fear) can be hidden for a while but at some point it will affect everything.
The only way I know to address a fear is to go at it head first. I am not saying if you have a fear of jumping off the roof, you should go jump off the roof. What I am saying is that if you have a fear that you know is holding you back in life, when it sticks its head up, call it by name and speak to it (not out loud) and tell it you refuse to be controlled by it any longer. If you are a believer, a little prayer on the subject is also good. The more you address it and rebuke it, the stronger your resistance will become and one day you will realize that the fear that once controlled you, doesn’t have a hold on you anymore. KT