Fear by Arjun Taneja

What is fear? Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. Everyone has felt fear from one point to another, at the top of a humongous water slide, right before you get a shot, or even going to a new school. But how can you overcome fear? How can you conquer the beast that is haunting you?

The first step is understanding your fear. Ask critical questions like why am I scared? What will happen if my fear strikes me? Analyze it as if it was your chemistry final. Do research and look up possible solutions and causes to your fear. Try and perform dry runs. For example, if your scared of an animal of any kind, try and visualize that animal in front of you. See it as if it was real and picture yourself holding your head high and taking deep breaths. As Bo Bennett says “visualization is daydreaming with a purpose”.

The second step is believing. I know it sounds cliche and unimaginative but there are very few pieces of advice better. If you say and think you can do something you have a far better chance of accomplishing that task than if you already have given up. Name one extremely successful person that doesn’t have the ultimate belief in themselves. You can’t. Michael Jordan, Mark Cuban, Steve Jobs, and Lebron James are a few examples of people who always kept a strong belief in themselves. Did they face challenges? Absolutely. Steve Jobs was fired from the company he had a large part in creating. Lebron James grew up in the streets. Michael Jordan got cut from his high school basketball team, now he’s arguably the best basketball player that ever lived. Believing is often the piece of the puzzle most people overlook.

The third and final step is to attack your fear. Be relentless, all you should think about is conquering and destroying your fear. Kyrie Irving says “fear is not real”. I live by this quote, I recite it when I’m at the top of a ski slope, ready to free fall on a huge water slide, at the doctor's office when I’m about to get a shot (got more than a few odd glances for that one). My point is to be absolutely cold hearted when attacking your fear, like it’s some dangerous bug threatening your existence. Squish that thing with vengeance. Feel free to let out a satisfactory yell when you conquer your fear (done that one too).

In conclusion, I broke down conquering your fears in three easy steps. Understanding your fear, believing, and attacking. Fear makes you want to cry, have a nervous breakdown, give up hope. But only if you let it.