5 Types of Fear Holding You Back

Too often, we allow fear, worry, and doubt to dominate and define our lives. We allow them to steal our joy, our sleep, and our precious dreams. – Tess Marshall

Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm. It is an anticipation of the possibility that something unpleasant will occur.

Fear is something very extraordinary that cuts deeper than a sword. Having listened to many people battling fear in one way or the other, I have come to realize that we all have similar thoughts towards fear.

These are the most common types of fear that hold us back from achieving our dreams:

1. Fear of failure: Failure is something nobody wants. We all don’t see failure the same way. What some people consider as total failure is the beginning of success to some people.

The fear of failing comes with the disappointment that follows; that feeling that despite your efforts, nothing seems to go as you wished it did, and it causes a feeling such that you might not even want to try again. The fear of failure is often used as an excuse to procrastinate, or not do anything to make situations better.

2. Fear of losing someone: This is a 2-way thing. The first is the fear of losing a loved one to someone else, while the second is the fear of losing someone to the cold hands of death, which is more painful because there is no chance of being with that person again in this life.

Whether losing someone to death or to someone else, they both really hurt.

3. Fear of public speaking: This is a big problem to many people. I remember running out of the lecture hall once when I heard we had to give a presentation. That day being the first time I was ever going to do that, I was so scared and couldn’t imagine standing alone in front of the crowd.

Unfortunately, I failed and since then, I promised myself never to let fear dominate me.

4. Fear of rejection: The fear of rejection is one of our deepest human fears. It often holds us back in life. It tends to affect our ability to succeed across a wide range of personal and professional situations. Rejection makes you feel inferior, makes you lonely, and forces you to take some unimaginable decisions.

5. Fear of the unknown: The fact that we don’t know what the future holds scares us. That is when we start to think of what next after graduation, before marriage, after marriage, about economic factors, results of elections, jobs, retirement planning, health issues and so on. Fear of the unknown also goes hand in hand with the fear of loss, fear of death etc.

Avoiding your fears only makes them scarier. Each time fears are embraced, it makes them easier to cope with the next time they strike, until they are no longer problems. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

What is your biggest fear? How has it affected your life? Please share your experiences in the comments section below.

Photo Credit: Huffingtonpost.com

About the Writer: Hiarat Ogunseye is a graduate of Marketing, a Confectioner and an avid reader of books. She loves to inspire people through her creativity. You can order her delicious pastries via email: Facebook: Bake4Me Confectionery, Twitter: bake4me_ and her blog: www.bake4meconfectioneries.blogspot.com