How to Take Risks and Abandon Your Fears

It's quite comfortable to sit back and keep the status quo. After all, if you don't rock the boat, you can't fall into the sea. But without risk, there are few rewards.

Abandon Your Fears

You already know that taking risks is risky. To build up the courage, you need to master your fears. However, it's not as easy as it sounds. If you've spent the better part of your life with fear, it could be deeply engrained in your subconscious, but it's not impossible to change. All you need now is the willingness to overcome your fears. If you really want to abandon your fears, there's nothing that can stop you!

Here are some tips to keep fear at bay:

1.     Recognize Your Fears. Recognize your fears for what they really are. You'll soon discover how your fears are limiting you by your reactions to them.

• Let's say you're afraid of driving, if you're ever in the driver's seat your response might be a quick "Oh no! Get me out of here!" If you continue this pattern of thinking you'll always be afraid. Accept that the fear is real, but challenge yourself to approach the situation with courage and inner strength.

2.     Overcome Your Fears. Many times we're afraid of something because it remains in the unknown. We might label something as risky because we don't yet know or understand what's going on.

• An example would be avoiding college because you're afraid of meeting new people, the workload, and so on. To overcome this fear, you can get familiar with the college, the courses, and the people so you can feel more comfortable and confident. Doing so will ease the fear of the unknown and give you a sense of relief.

3.     Change Your Thinking. If you can alter the way you think about a certain situation, you'll then act differently. Your fears may overwhelm your thoughts at times, but your job is to put a stop to this.

• For example, if you think you'll never be able to achieve your goals, you won't. But if you believe in yourself, you're far more likely to succeed!

Once you overcome your fears mentally, it's time to take risks. Whether you realize it or not, you take risks everyday. Most risks are quite minor, but risk accompanies nearly every decision you make.

Follow these pointers to help you get into a risk taking mindset:

• A "risk" may sound negative; instead, think of it as more of an "adventure" or "journey."

• Visualize a positive outcome.

• Consider the reasons why you're hesitant to take a risk.

• When you have a set plan in place, taking a risk is a whole lot less threatening.

• When you've taken the leap, evaluate your experience so you can improve in the future.

• Self-confidence is the most important ingredient to success.

Putting it all Together

If you're feeling tentative about the whole thing, get your feet wet with small steps. You can't expect yourself to change drastically overnight, but at the same time you have to believe in yourself and believe that change is possible.

Overcoming fears and taking risks go hand in hand. Start small and dream big. You only have one journey on this earth, so you might as well make the most of it!