Life is scary! Here are three common fears everyone has and proven ways to overcome them.
Fear of Failure
Set new goals
A common cause for fear of failure is creating unrealistic goals. Try reworking your goals to allow room for improvement or growth. If you leave space in your goal to learn something new, technically your goal cannot fail, as there is something new to learn in every situation.
Share Your Failures
Confide in a relative or close friend about your failures to gain insight from a fresh perspective. A 2015 study published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information showed that college students who shared their fear or failing exams with another person reported to feeling more “normal and enabling” about their past failures.
Fear of Being Alone
Find Your Passion
According to a recent national survey, 25% of all adults experience loneliness at least every few weeks, and incidences among adolescents and college students are even higher. One option to combat this loneliness is to find a new hobby or pastime. Not only will this help you learn a new skill or help you develop a hidden talent, it will surround you with people who have similar interests to yours.
Aim for Independence
Aloneness doesn’t mean idleness. Many things on your to-do list are best accomplished by yourself! From catching a movie to finally organizing your bookshelf, time spent alone can be productive and rewarding if you put your mind to it.
Fear of the Unknown
Relax!
A study by Harvard Neuroscientist Sara Lazar in 2005 revealed that meditation for at least 30 minutes a day significantly improved participant’s emotional regulation, perspective and anxiety levels. Take a moment every day to clear your mind and appreciate the present. Meditation will not only reduce stress about what we can’t control but aid us in remembering what we already know.
Visualize
Instead of fearing what you can’t control, try setting goals and visualizing a future that’s aligned with what YOU want. Fulfilling the goals you set guarantees a future that you control as well as ensuring you know the outcome of every situation. Try writing goals for today, this week, this year and where you’ll be in 5 years to give yourself an idea of what the future holds.
Sources: NeuroReport, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov