by Jesse James

Created on: November 17, 2009

Fear. It's a natural instinct. It's that feeling that makes all of the hairs on your arms stand up, and your body freeze as you face what you have convinced yourself will inevitably be a bad situation. However, if you take a moment to diagnose the emotion of fear, it's very interesting to realize that fear is always an emotion experienced in anticipation of an event. It relates to future events; not what is happening at this moment.

It is one of those tasks that usually tops the list of everyone's life to do list. To overcome some fear; whether it is a fear of heights, spiders, flying or even germs. There are hundreds of them, and they can be as unique as each individual. Whether it has resulted from a bad situation in the past, or it stems from stories you heard as a child. All fears come from some root cause, and typically we experience irrational fears. Some individuals use fear to their advantage. Torture tactics are heavily based on imposing fear into the subject. It is not the intention of the investigator to actually hurt the person, but to create enough fear that they will feel the need to talk as opposed to what the alternative may be.

Many people actually believe that religion is based on fear. Followers will abide to strict rules in the fear that if they do not, they will be sent to hell instead of enjoying eternity in heaven. The overshadowing doom that hangs as a threat is enough to keep them coming to church and living moderately moral lives. As it seems, fear is all around us at every level and is running many parts of our lives. We essentially are living our lives in anticipation of something terrible about to happen. There are two things that I see very unnerving about that statement.

First, by living in anticipation, we are not living in the moment. As it is, the only for certain moment that we will ever have is this one right now. There is no certainty that the next one may come, so it is pointless to worry that the next one is going to be horrible. By wasting our time worrying about the next moment, we lose the current moment. As precious as our time is in life, we should really grab this moment, and make it is great as possible.

Second, the assumption that the impending situation is going to be horrible based on conditioning is a great way to invite a negative moment into your life. Most likely, you have learned in your life thus far that if you expect something to be bad, it will most surely end that way. It's your attitude that creates the situation. Many people that take the initiative to face their fears usually walk away realizing it was not so bad. They are able to let go of that fear.

By understanding that fear is a reaction in anticipation, and not actual feelings related to the event as it happens, you can start to release fear from your life. If something happens to you that causes pain, respect that. Experience the pain, but be done with it and move on. If you face a similar situation again, try not to base your expectations on the past, because it may not end the same. Treat each new situation for what it is; a new situation. You can learn from it, and learn to avoid it if needed, but there is no need to learn fear for it. That will only cause unnecessary pain and stress.

Through experiencing each moment for it's own value, you will be able to let go of fear in your life. It is not easy, but you can start a little at a time. When you are facing a situation that may cause you to worry, ask yourself if it worth losing out on a potentially great benefit due to a fear? Take back the control of your life and let go of the fear that is holding you back.

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