#fear #worry #thoughts #goals #IrrationalFear

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” said President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Or, to paraphrase a Mayo Clinic TV ad, when uncertainty hits, fear replaces thought.
Our thoughts are so cluttered with fear, worry, and stress, that we can’t focus on our goals,” writes Darius Foroux, in a Pocket Worthy article that advocates having a mantra to fight off worry.
Fear and worry are natural phenomena. Some politicians, in their messaging, use it to their advantage.
And, as Foroux writes, we spend lots of time worrying about things that will never happen.
It’s not to say we should fear nothing. But we tend to create fears and worries when bad circumstances befall us.
The best way, as Foroux points out, to combat worry is to have goals and focus on them.
That can be easier said than done, but it’s probably a good way to start to minimize fear and worries in our minds.
When someone we know or love goes on a trip, they often tell us to think good thoughts to make the trip safe and successful.
But, getting back to Foroux’s point, having a goal to focus on can often occupy our minds to the point that there is little, if any, room for worry and fear.
And, as the Mayo Clinic ad continues, answers, in the form of research, eliminate uncertainty, thereby eliminating fear and worry.
What the ad doesn’t say, but may imply, is whether those answers turn out as expected, or whether they ultimately lead to a breakthrough.
But if you focus your thoughts on your goals, you can create certainty when uncertainty tries to creep into your mind.
We all want to live a worry-free, fearless life. That may not be possible. But facing fear by focusing on goals can help mitigate it.
For example, if your goal is to be successful at your job, focus on doing what you need to do to make that happen, rather than focusing on what might happen to you if you fail.
It can be a tall ask for some people whose mind cannot help being fearful, because of a mental illness or deficiency.
Those folks may need professional help to overcome what they fear – often irrationally.
But those of sound mind can create thoughts that fill the mind so there is no room for fear or worry.
So, are you too often fearful or filled with worry? If so, what do you worry about? Is it something that may never, or is very unlikely to, happen?
What would make you so happy that you would become fearless or worry-free?
Can you acquire or achieve such happiness? What do you have to do to acquire or achieve it?
Happiness doesn’t always come quickly, naturally or promptly. It often requires us to do something that may not pay us off immediately, but will pay off over time with consistent action.
Fear and worry are much like foods for which we do not have a taste. Eating, or thinking, something more pleasant is the best solution.
Peter