Learn to face your fear and overcome it, so you can focus on your dream.
by Ann Baldwin
Fear is one of the most powerful roadblocks to fulfilling our daytime dreams. Fear is what we experience, when we take our focus off our dreams. We experience fear in the same way, whether awake or asleep dreaming: your heart races and beats so hard you can hear it, pulse quickens, muscles tighten, freeze-up and you shake, body temperature rises, a cold sweat breaks-out, shortness of breath, light-headed, nauseous and blurred vision. We have three reactions to fear; either take flight (run), freeze (do nothing), or fight (face and conquer it.)
Here are ten common fears that prevent us from fulfilling our dreams: failing, success, being judged, emotional pain, embarrassment, being alone/abandoned, rejection, expressing our true feelings, intimacy and the unknown. There are many other fears, these are just a few. We must first face our fear, so we know exactly what it is. Then, we can take steps (action) to overcome it. Too often, we take fear at face value and run, never knowing what it is we’re running from. In-turn, we end-up running away from the very thing we really want (our dream.) Fear has then blocked us from moving forward. The other common reaction to fear is to remain frozen and do nothing; therefore, going nowhere.
The purpose of fear in our night-time dreams is to GET OUR ATTENTION! It represents an obstacle, a challenge and roadblock. Our night-time dreams are giving us the opportunity to see and overcome our fears in a safe environment. I’ve learned a lot about dreams through my study of Native American beliefs. They told their children that whenever they’re afraid of and/or running from something in their dreams, to turn and face whatever it is and one of two things will always happen. It will either disappear or become their friend. I’ve practiced this for many years now and know it’s true. So, observe, listen to and follow your dreams. They will show you your fears and teach you how to overcome them in a safe environment (next week I’ll talk about dream interpretation to further help you with this.)
Our dreams (both waking and sleeping) are here to teach us to have the courage and self-confidence to walk towards them and make them real. Learning to overcome our fears helps to build our confidence, so we can take action towards fulfilling our dreams. The first thing we do, when we want to accomplish something, is to mentally visualize ourselves doing it. Many years ago, I took a ropes course called, Tree-Top Challenges, which taught us to confront and over-come our fears through action.
On one particular event, we were asked to climb 70 feet up a redwood tree and then walk across a 1 foot in diameter log to another tree. Now, if we were on the ground, no big deal, we can walk with confidence across that log. However, the element of fear has now come into play and the psychological effect it has on us will determine whether or not we accomplish our task and fulfill our goal. Keep in mind we were wearing helmets and a safety harness (belay.)
We had two visions to choose from; what we wanted (dream-goal) or what we didn’t want (fear of something.). We already knew we could walk across that log. But our fear of falling 70 feet down was now weighing heavily on our mind and preventing us from moving towards our goal. The key was to STAY FOCUSED on our goal of reaching the other tree and take the first step towards it, which gave us the confidence we needed.
Our waking and sleeping dreams can look like a double exposure photo; where the images are mixed and overlapping each other (like the photo above.) They can appear translucent, fuzzy and blurry. This is what happens, when our fears go unchecked. The image of our fear blends or overlaps with our dream (goal) and we never get a clear picture. Knowing what we don’t want (fear of something) is just as important as know what we want (dream-goal). Once we recognize both, we can move forward with more confidence in fulfilling our dreams, by staying focused on what we want.
Thank you for entering
The Land of Make Believe
Where your Dream is What You Achieve.
Annie
Giving Those Without A Voice A Way To Be Heard.
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