by Amela Piric

Created on: April 16, 2009   Last Updated: May 26, 2010

Fear can be a debilitating emotion if we let it stand in the way of our happiness.  Fear can keep us single and unattached for the rest of our lives.  Fear has the potential to deprive us from becoming the most loving person that we can be.  Fear is usually a result of negative and hurtful experiences from our past.

It is true that some of us never received love and care when we were little while others witnessed family violence as little children.  Thus, a number of people never had a chance to find out what love is all about, how to receive it, and give it in return.  Often times a person may be fearful to open his or her heart to someone especially if he or she has been hurt in the previous relationships.  Still, fear and suspicion should not be good enough reasons to keep us single and unattached.

Some may be afraid to give love out of fear that their love will not be returned.  Thus, some of us may decide to live alone filled with insecurities and questions leaving us feeling hopeless and sad.  Partly, it is normal that we take care of ourselves by protecting our heart and our emotions from being hurt again.  It is good to have such self-defense mechanisms in place as they best help us protect ourselves from unhealthy relationships.  However, we should not sacrifice our happiness just because we had a negative love experience from our past.

Learn the art of forgiveness and simply move on as it is not healthy for you to dwell on your hurt and fears forever. We should not let fear become our master and encourage us to never take risks again. It is always better to love and to loose than to never love at all. Love is all about confronting your fears and growing as a result.

When confronted with fear, we should always ask ourselves the following question "what is the worst thing that can happen to us if we confronted our fear?" We do not have reserve lives but only this one.  So, why not make the best of it?  If we try, we always have an equal chance of winning.  If we do not even try, what chance do we have at winning love?  It is up to us to decide whether we will embrace fear or true love in our life.

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