I have decided to overcome my fear and write my first article where I’m gonna share with you the events that led to what will become one of the most amazing experiences that literally changed my life. I have never considered myself a procrastinator but I admit fear caused me to postpone many things that necessarily needed to be done, such as writing an article where I express my thoughts and feelings. I was horrified to the bone about tackling the topic. But if you are reading this than I have actually overcome one of my fears.

• Release yourself :

“F.E.A.R : Face Everything And Rise.”

Your life’s mission is be so busy loving your life that you don’t have time for hate, regret or fear. Most people are trapped in a vicious cycle of Boastful Instagram or Facebook nonsense. When you live your life almost entirely in the virtual reality and get most of your feedback and outside knowledge from it you’ve got yourself the recipe for failure. The nonsense you share virtually and actually rely on for boasting your self-control, confidence and self esteem have the particularity of boosting our ego instead and consequently numbing our ability to take action. Taking tangible action is key when it comes to facing you fear, no one ever overdosed on motivational quotes and woke up one morning lionhearted. One must build up the will to address fear before carrying on overcoming it.

• Identify your fears :

Two years ago, I found love on stage, or to be exact it found me. I was too busy blabbering. And soon what began as a silly adventure of two friends led to semi-finals, than finals, than to second place, and a love for life.

A year later, i bump into the post for the preselection for the same speaking competition and I think to myself : here goes another round, but as time flies i think of every reason as not to run for it, most were absurd but were enough to keep me on the bench. Truth is i was scared to death that i would not live up to people’s expectations, that i might disappoint the jury, bore the audience, let down my friends, or worst betray my love. It was not about winning as much as it was the need to show improvement when I could not see it for myself, simply put, it was a question of pride.

Looking back, i wish i could give my old self a much needed hug. It took a lot of effort to overpower this reoccurring pressure, the biggest part of which was going up the attic of my being, pulling out that big dusty chest wrapped in the heavy chains of pride, prejudice and ego, breaking the chains, setting that fear out to the light of day, as big or as picayune as it is, sitting with it, looking it straight in the eyes and admitting its existence. Only then i, and hopefully you too, could learn to appreciate fear for its true value, a subtle motivation to keep learning and growing stronger everyday.

• Find love & passion in what you do :

Have you ever wondered what actually happens to your system when you make a startling encounter? Apart from your heart beating out of your chest and a feeling you might faint, stress hormones such as adrenaline get fired through your system instigating remarkable changes to occur, almost instantly. Heart rate and blood pressure increase, pupils dilate and nonessential systems such as the immune system and digestion turn themselves off to allow more energy go towards your vital organs, your veins constrict to keep blood in the major muscle groups. You become more tense and alert. Altogether, your body is kicked into high gear, essentially a fight or flight response.

Fear does not seem so much like the bad guy now, does it? This natural instinct has been serving humanity all along. We have been ungrateful enough. It is time we make peace with it, and realize what ought to be changed is not fear itself, but the actions we take in response to that fear.

• Beginners can become winners :

I hate being a beginner, i hate to admit that I’m not good enough at doing something for the first time. I am so afraid of failing that I do not even try sometimes.

Have you ever said any of the above before? Well you’re not alone because everyone including me did too. Yes, I am guilty of having thought of these words so many times, but I am not ashamed. I know the more I think about them the more I am short-circuiting my life again and again and finally come to the realization that every day is a new day and what a revelation that is. Drag down your phone’s notification bar and check the date; this is the only time it will show those exact digits. We are expected to grow wiser with age, as we get to master life, but the way I see it is that i am twenty, this is the first time I will ever be twenty, so I am learning how to be twenty, and this woman next to me is forty, this is the first time she will ever be forty, so she’s learning what it is like to be forty, the experiences she learned at her twenties on how to be twenty are obsolete, they won’t serve her much now that she’s forty. All of this brings me to the ultimatum that we will forever be rookies at some point or another. Learning to accept this will significantly diminish the chances you have to give in to fear once it occurs, it will serve more as a gear than as a hinder. As though you had an alarm letting you know if something is worth spending your resources, time and energy.

Now I know my methods are a little unorthodox, but the reason I think I am the best fit to talk you out of your fear is simple, i have like everyone else been subjected to fear and fearful situations. I’ve helped myself overcome my fear and i know i can help you overcome yours. Now that i am aware of my fears, also thanks to those whims we all get and choose to ignore. I still have a long way to go. However, now i live for taking the unpaved roads and i promise it’s the best way to live.

Author : Ikram ALMABROUKI.
Editors : Ali ALLA