"Facing the Giants: Overcoming the Fears of Life."

             "FEAR: an unpleasant emotion, caused by belief that something or someone is dangerous, likely to cause pain or threat." Whether if it's fear of failure, death, spiders, water or being in crowded places, everyone has something they are afraid of. Many of us have visions and goals that we want to accomplish, but the fear of failure or disappointment keeps us stagnant. Before you proceed reading this blog, I encourage you to think or write down your fears. What are you afraid of? What makes your stomach drop?

            I once listened to a young man speak about his fears. He was in the middle of starting his own business and he was afraid to fail. He had to take out a cumulative loan of $40 million dollars to begin his business. If I was him, I would have been scared out of my mind also. $40 million dollars is a lot of money. Before he signed the documents for the loans he was confused, afraid to fail and feared disappointing his friends and family. The young man explained how he overcame his fears and I found it very powerful. To summarize his statement, "I decided to think about the fears in my mind, rather than suppress or ignore them. I took a pen and paper and I wrote down all of my "What Ifs." What If I take this loan and my business fails? What if no one wants to work for me? What if my MBA degree didn't equip me for this company. By the time I ended I had at least 12 "What Ifs." After writing all my fears down, I then proceeded to answer all my questions. One by one I wrote out a back up plan for what I would do if my "What Ifs" came true. Once I completed writing my back up plans I felt a weight come off my shoulder. I felt more prepared for whatever was going to come my way. I then switched my perspective and focused on the positives that could come out of the business. What if I become a billionaire?" Not to my surprise, this young man is very wealthy today and his business is doing very well. 

               In the movie "Facing the Giants" actor Alex Kendrick plays Coach Grant Taylor. This inspirational film demonstrates one avenue to overcome fear. Coach Taylor struggled with fear of failure, disappointment, and infertility. Him and his wife, Brooke, unsuccessfully tried having children for 4 years. Grant had a health related issue that lowered his chances of having kids. Mr. Taylor was also a high school football coach. His football team had never had a winning season in the past 6 years of him coaching. Grant wasn't sure of the direction to take next in life and was afraid to disappoint everyone around him. In the movie, Grant turns to his faith to overcome his fears. He asked his wife, "If God does not give us kids, will you still serve Him?" Before his football team would play a game, he would remind the players, "If we win or if we lose, God will receive all the glory." Grant took his fears of failure to God and then he faced them. He evaluated areas he could grow in as a coach and remained committed to his players. By the end of the season, his athletes were smarter, faith led, stronger and leaders off and on the field.

                 

              If you have strange phobias such as feet, heights, or reptiles, I encourage you to go through the "What Ifs" in your head and then take baby steps to overcome your fear. If you are afraid of heights, I do NOT encourage going bungee jumping or sky diving for your first height experience. Go through your "What Ifs" and then begin by walking over a low bridge. Then little by little increase the height. If you are afraid of reptiles, go through the "Whats Ifs" in your head, purchase a plastic/fake reptile, watch YouTube videos, and once comfortable hold a reptile. Fear is inevitable, but you can decide to rise up to fear or run. 

CELEBRITY FOCUS:

To be famous does not mean you are dismissed from having fears. Watch the video to know the fears of some of your favorite celebrities, such as: Taylor Swift, Madonna, Oprah Winfrey, Orlando Bloom and many others.

Fear is a natural thing to have. Everyone has struggled with fear at a certain point in life. Overcome your fears by going through the "What Ifs" in your head. Don't run from your fears, face them.

Much Love,

Titiana Ngongang

Life, Faith &Love™

Resources:
GoogleImage
"Top 10 Weird Celebrity Phobias." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 22 July 2016. <https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6gdb3A2e0k>.