Fear — Feel It and Keep Moving – Positive-Attitude
Fear -- Feel It and Keep Moving
Many of us allow our fear to stop us in our tracks. All it takes is a less than encouraging word, a negative facial expression, or a less than positive opinion, and we give up before we even get started. We're afraid of:
the word "no" because it means failure
the word "yes" because it means responsibility
the disapproving look because it means rejection
the whispers and grins because they mean judgment, and
the absence of support because it means abandonmentLet's look at these five catalysts to failure and how they can be overcome.Abandonment
Little James Earl was scared. His father had left the family to become a prize fighter and actor. His mother had left to earn money as a tailor. The Great Depression had stolen his family and he was about to lose the only life he had ever known.His grandparents had adopted him and now they were on their way to Michigan.Rejection
Though his life in Mississippi had been one of abandonment, it was all the 5-year-old boy had known. The move to Michigan so traumatized him he developed a stutter.His first day of school was a disaster. His stuttering made his classmates laugh at him. It was the final straw for a frightened little boy. He closed his mouth and simply quit talking? for eight years!James Earl was completely mute ? with the exception of conversations he had with himself when he was all alone. He found solace in the written word ? creating poetry to release the raging in his soul.Judgment
As is often the case, one person who saw beyond his limitations released James Earl from his self-imposed prison. That one person was an English teacher who saw talent in the silent 13-year-old. She pushed him beyond his fear by forcing him into public speaking ? insisting he recite a poem in front of the class every day.Can't you imagine his terror when he first stood in front of his classmates? What made him do it? Was it only the teacher's insistence? No. It was a deep desire to break free from his prison and speak all the things that had sat silently in his heart during all those years. He chose to feel the fear ? and then do it anyway!Failure
He stuttered. He stammered. He endured the sympathetic and scornful looks of fellow students. He endured the laughing. But he did it. He faced the fear and forced himself to speak. Day after day. Week after week. He hung onto the encouragement of the teacher who believed in him. And it worked. His stuttering became less. He learned to control his voice.Responsibility
His victories made him look for more challenges. James Earl began to take acting lessons. His early lessons in perseverance gave him the courage to push beyond the prejudices against black actors. He chose to take as many different types of roles as he could ? stretching his limitations and refusing to be pigeon-holed with any stereotypes.Beyond the Fear
James Earl Jones is now known for his deep authoritative voice. Perhaps you know him as the voice of Star War's Darth Vader or as Mufasa in the Lion King. You see him almost daily on commercials. He has starred on Broadway and been in many movies. He has been laden with Tony, Emmy and Obie Awards.People look at him today and see a confident actor with a deep, resonant voice. The next time you see him, look deeper. . .James Earl Jones' great secret to success is that he chose to push beyond his fears. He chose to change the reality of a young boy who had lived in silence for eight years. He chose to face ridicule and scorn in order to be free. I can only imagine how many years passed before he could open his mouth without being afraid of what would come out.So many of us let our fears stop us. We're afraid of how we will appear. We're afraid of what people will think. We're afraid we'll fail. And so.. . we do nothing. We exchange fear for regret.Fear will pass. Fear can be conquered. Fear will fade away in the face of determined action.Regret ? well, you'll live with that for the rest of your life.What are you afraid of? Name the fear. Choose to face it. And take action to conquer it today! You, too, can live a life of success by feeling the fear and moving beyond it.The story for this article was taken from Ginny Dye's Daily Secrets For Success. Let these daily motivational stories stir your heart, fuel your desire and propel you into action. Subscribe at http://www.DailySecretsForSuccess.com
Not Sure About the Mind?Body Connection? You Already Use It To Produce Pain Relief
Not Sure About the Mind?Body Connection? You Already Use It To Produce Pain Relief
But Not Nearly Often EnoughIf you're skeptical about your ability to use your own subconscious to ease pain, consider this: you already do it. But you do it by accident, so you don't notice. Here's how to do it on purpose and get better results. Let's say you had a bad night and awoke with more pain than usual. You're resigned to having a bad day, but suddenly find your daughter on your doorstep asking if you would mind watching your four-year-old grandson for a few hours. He's the light of your life, and that morning as you play with him the time just flies by. You hardly think of your pain.What you've just demonstrated is something that all of us who suffer from chronic discomfort have experienced at one time or another: the power of the mind to interrupt the pain cycle. This seems to occur on an accidental basis when four common types of events occur:? Positive Feelings. The story about the grandson is a good example. When something better than expected occurs, the subconscious tends to release dopamine, a brain chemical that produces feelings of well-being. Even though the amount of pain may be no different, you usually notice it less.? Distractions. When you're intensely engaged in an activity you love you tend to feel less pain. During this kind of a distraction you're probably triggering the subconscious to positively influence at least two pain relief factors-the production of beneficial brain chemicals, and the generation of upbeat emotions.? Relaxation. Anytime you can relax you're likely to feel less pain. You've probably experienced this after a hot bath, an hour of your favorite music, or a massage from a therapist who knows how to avoid your sore spots. Heat, music and touch signal the subconscious to relax the musculoskeletal system, which eases pain.? Acceptance. You may have noticed that the more you resist your pain the more it hurts you. If you've ever been able to just let it be, and not fight it, it probably backed off a little. In that moment you inadvertently gave your subconscious the message that the pain was within your tolerance level, and it may have complied.These factors could be operating whether you have back pain or pain in the neck or other extremities, arthritis pain, fibromyalgia pain, or even neuropathic pain (nerve pain).The Role of VisualizationMany of the occasions on which you've reduced pain due to positive feelings, distractions, relaxation or acceptance have probably been accidents. But they prove that the mind-body connection works, not just for other people but for you yourself.Through visualization statements you may be able to build on these experiences to make them regular events.Visualization statements represent the specific language that your subconscious wants you to read back to it to help ease your pain. They're simple and are targeted directly at the main factors that could bring you relief.You can obtain these statements by learning how to communicate directly with your own subconscious mind. The process is straightforward and can be done at home by working with a facilitator over the telephone. You you need no special skills and no previous experience in working with the subconscious.? You can directly visualize an increase in dopamine, and can indirectly do so by reading visualization statements designed to produce feelings of well-being.? You can visualize an increase in your love for different activities, thereby helping to make them valid distractions from your pain.? You can visualize the relaxation of your muscles and an increase in the flexibility of your tendons and ligaments, helping to remove pain from within.? You can visualize the acceptance of your pain, assisting your subconscious to move it into your range of tolerance.Programming the SubconsciousThe subconscious is quite powerful. When programmed through the very visualizations that it suggests, it may be able to turn episodes of accidental pain relief into events over which you have a degree of control.Ben Plumb is CEO and President of The Visualization Group, Inc. The company's service is delivered by people like himself who personally suffered from years of chronic pain, and used the visualization method described in this article to obtain relief when nothing else worked. For more information, please visit http://www.thevisualizationgroup.com.(c) 2005 The Visualization Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The methodology and program disclosed in this article are Patent Pending.