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In This Month's Issue: Most of the
time our
imagined fears keep us from enjoying
something we
would really like to do. In this article,
you will learn 5
principles for eradicating fear.
- A 30-year Fear Faced
- Success at Fiesta Texas
- 5 Rules for Eradicating Fear
- Fear Quotes From Famous People
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Hot Links
Employee
Selection & Development
Article:
Dealing with a Difficult Employee
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Risk and success are companions.
You cannot succeed without risking something.
Fear
thoughts reveal a picture that is untrue and
enslaves
us to an imagined outcome. Focusing on the
negative result or some kind of loss
reinforces our
behavior to avoid doing it. In essence, we are
imprisoned by our own thoughts. Most of the
time,
our imagined fears keep us from enjoying
something
we would really like to do.
For nearly 30 years, I have been living with
a fear of
riding a roller coaster. When I went to an
amusement
park with family members, I would spend a lot
of time
and energy explaining to those around me how
I had
nearly fell out of a helicopter at 7000 feet
during a
training mission while I was in the Army
National
Guard. The pilot opened the side door which
we were
facing and none of us had seat belts on. Any
little
bump and I would be sky diving without a
parachute!
The thought of not seeing my wife and young
daughter again was very painful. I now
realize that I
over reacted to the situation but my mind
recorded it
as a life threatening event.
Recently our first-born daughter, Angie,
invited my
wife and I to accompany her and our 3
grandchildren
to Fiesta Texas, a theme park in San Antonio,
Texas.
As usual, I started lamenting my perceived near
death
military experience as a buffer for those
around me
asking me to go on a roller coaster. For some
reason
this time my daughter did not pay attention
to my
rambling and asked me to go on the Superman
Roller
Coaster with her. There was something about her
look that cajoled me to accept her offer. I
reasoned
that thousands of people ride Superman every
month
and they probably enjoy it. The fear left me
when I
decided to take action and ride with Angie.
My newfound freedom did experience some testing.
After we were locked into our seats, there
was an
electrical malfunction and we had to sit
restrained for
several minutes until they could get the
electricity
reestablished and unlock our harness so we could
exit the ride. The ride officials conducted a
couple of
test runs to make sure everything was working
well.
We re-boarded to our seats, got locked
in, and
in the blink of an eye we were climbing up a
steep
hill. I was
not afraid. The loops, fast turns, and
dives were
really fun! Angie said I shouted "I love
this ride!"
during the entire length of the ride. I felt
a sense of
accomplishment and joy. I even asked my wife to
ride Superman with me and I enjoyed it the same
way the second time. If my daughter had not
asked
me to face my fears, I would still be
terrified of roller
coasters and miss out on a lot of fun.
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The cost of hiring the wrong person for a
position can run as high as the position's
yearly
salary. Would you like to know in advance
all about
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First we benchmark the job. In essence, we
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We help you select the best employee for the job
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Email
or call Jim at 325-792-1148 today.
Click
here for detailed information about
our unique selection process.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is
certain" says Dr. David Schwartz's in his
book, The
Magic of Thinking Big. I have applied this
principle
many times in my life and it always seems to
work.
The fear of roller coasters was too big for
me to
tackle by myself. I needed some help. That
is what
a good coach does. He or she helps you pinpoint
your negative energy and then face it. When we
take time to face our fears and shortcomings, we
start the process of initiating change that
brings a
positive benefit to us, our family and peers.
Either
you are attacking your fear or it is
attacking you!
I have reflected on my roller coaster
experience and
have extracted 5 principles that helped me
overcome
my fear. They can help you overcome your
fears also.
- I had assurance from someone I trusted that
everything would be OK. Participating with
someone
to overcome a fear is very beneficial.
- Linking past experiences to current ones
creates
a false sense of despair. The fearful event
that I
was facing was evaluated in context. It was a
roller
coaster ride, not a ride in a helicopter.
- Acting on my decision immediately was
important.
If I
would have waited too long, there is a good
chance I
would have talked myself out of the
experience.
- Anticipating the fun of the experience
helped. I
do not know why my mind shifted to anticipating
fun. I also visualized telling my friends
that I had
met this fear head on and won.
- Riding the ride for a second time
confirmed to me
that I had indeed lost my fear. If I had not
rode it a
second time, there might be a lingering doubt
that I
had conquered the fear.
Fear is defined by psychologists as:
Fantasized Experiences
Appearing Real. In your mind,
there
is manager that does whatever you tell it to
do. It
tends to have neutral bias and acts on the
commands you give it. If you tell it that you
are
scared to ride roller coasters, it does
everything it
can to make sure you are scared to ride roller
coasters.
That internal manager will also work for you
if you tell
it that you want to enjoy roller coasters.
Mark Twain said, "I have lived a long life
and had
many troubles, most of which never happened."
In the Old Testament, Job said, "All my fears
have
come upon me". Your mind tends to create your
reality. Face your fears and they will flee.
I would like to hear how you have overcame a
fear
that kept you captive. Email
me and put "Fear Erased" in the subject
line.
A quote to live by: "Life is either a daring
adventure
or nothing." by Helen Keller
Communicate, relate, and prosper every day.
All the Best,
Jim Rooney
© 2006 Jim Rooney, All rights reserved.
You
are free to use material from the People Smart
Toolbox eZine in whole or in part, as long as
you
include attribution, including live web site
link.
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