Use fear to your advantage.

Fear is the feeling tied closest to our primal instinct, survival. It encourages us to avoid dangerous circumstances by bringing warning signs to our attention. It also helps us escape harmful situations by triggering the release of adrenaline into our veins, giving us levels of speed, strength and awareness that we normally would not have. The “fight or flight” instinct people possess is directly tied to the observance of some threat; something we know we should fear. A force that threatens our very existence.

Unfortunately, fear also has a paralyzing effect, literally freezing people in place as they’re overtaken with the emotion. It can last moments, days, years and even lifetimes. Fear will keep people stuck in places they don’t want to be, with people they don’t want to be with. Often times, individuals fail to realize that fear is deeply rooted in most of the decisions they make, since the only way to discover this is via honest, deep self reflection. Here are some real life examples of fear as a paralyzing force:

Question: Why do I stay in a career I despise?

Common answers:

• The money is good
• I have an easy job / commute…