Daily we can choose to fear or have courage

Disease called fear; cure called courage

Ahumah Ocansey Opinion Oct - 10 - 2022 , 15:46

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear — Nelson Mandela (Ex-President, South Africa)

Countless numbers of persons are afflicted with one fear or the other. Whereas they outwardly appear normal, they are, within, a maelstrom of conflicting choices: to do this or to do that; to avoid this or embrace that; to wait or to move; to risk failure or to avert shame; to begin or to postpone; to start afresh or to give up.

And, behind each choice is, no doubt, an experience of bitterness, or pain, or financial ruin, or just fear of failure, which has created a psychological mindset of being overcautious.

Fear is destructive of happiness, and we must consider how we could overcome it, and live our lives triumphantly.

Let’s define fear to mean an emotional response to any threat, either real or imagined. So that, when another person drowns in a river from swimming, you could emotionally respond by also imagining yourself drowning, just like that fellow, and then decide that you won’t swim in a river or the sea, perhaps, because you are an amateur.

Similarly, in the event of upcoming examination, regardless of your preparation, you might fear that you might fail, though many too have passed their exams.

After going through a traumatic divorce from your partner, the idea of another marriage is repulsive. Whatever emotional feelings we experience that causes anxiety of a kind, is fear.

Reactions

Psychologists have identified the following reactions as some of the symptoms of fear:

You find it hard to concentrate on anything else; you feel dizzy; you feel frozen to the spot; you can’t eat; you have hot and cold sweats; you get a dry mouth; you breathe very fast; your muscles feel weak; your stomach churns; you sweat a lot; your bowels feel loose; your muscles tense up; your heart beats very fast and you take no action at all; maintaining the status quo.

The very psychological nature of fear makes it difficult to always know why we fear, as some things get lodged in the subconscious mind, and trigger off fear with the least stimuli.

If you ever escaped from a lorry accident, and the driver had to speed up to overtake another vehicle, the mere acceleration causes fear in you and, lo, the driver is in trouble: “Ei driver, are you going to kill us?!” “Where are you speeding to?!”

Regardless of whatever state you are in, you are the best person to know whether you need help to overcome your fear, by consulting a counsellor/priest, a doctor, a friend, or just to will and overcome it by a supreme faith in yourself.

Psychologists have tried out various approaches by which we can overcome our fear of anything.

Denial, affirmation

In this, you deny whatever you are afraid of, and affirm its opposite. “I have gone through a divorce, but that is not the end of life. Someone out there desires me; someone out there is compatible with me. I can love and be happy with someone. Now I affirm that someone is coming my way, and I will remarry and be happy!” And lo, it works!

Developing Strong Will power: This requires fortifying your mind with positive statements that strengthen your resolve to achieve anything you purpose, or overcome anything you might dread. The Holy Scriptures (Bible, Koran, etc) abound with such assurances of help and overcoming. Simply, one must put one’s trust in God. Some few examples:

Philippians 4:13. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

II Timothy 1: 7. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Joshua 1: 9. Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

There are many such assurances of divine help, and memorising such quotes builds your faith, and provides a positive and protective power for success against fear and failure.

Visualisation, confrontation

By visualisation, you call up in your mind an act or situation that could be challenging, and mentally see yourself in control of that act or situation. The confrontation is a mental exercise, not physical.

As a Lawyer, I use this technique very often in my work, and I succeed in getting the results I desire.

Visualisation and confrontation fortify your resolve to overcome.

Analyse fears

Ask yourself why you fear a specific thing. Look at it calmly, and you might realise that your fears have been foolish and infantile; that you are capable of doing what you feared, and you could actually be victorious.

With such awareness, proceed to carry out your intentions. You will succeed.

Exercise

When you keep fearing a thing, it etches itself on your mind. Break its hold by exercising, jogging, walking, or doing anything that changes your monotony and directs your mind in another direction.

Remarkably, such activities de-stresses you to enable you to look afresh at your fears.

Invariably, a solution would appear that would free your energies in a creative way to overcome and be free.

Inspiration from success: An excellent illustration of reflecting on a past success, and using it to build your courage to deal with a new threat is seen in the famous story of David and Goliath: a perfect story of fear and courage (I Samuel 17:34-37).

Whereas the soldiers of King Saul were overwhelmed by the might of Goliath, and were cowering with fear, David, a shepherd, used the technique here to overcome Goliath. Says he: “Your servant has killed both lion and bear and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of God” (NKJV)

You are greater than your fears; cease fearing, because greater is He that is in you than that which is without. Be daring. Move!

The writer is a lawyer. E-mail: akwesihu@yahoo.com