Beyond My Fears
I have had nights where I am too tired but I can’t fall asleep or moments where I want to be productive and I can’t do anything. I think it’s mainly caused by anxiety. And, how is anxiety related to fear? Well, I believe anxiety is fear of the future. Personally, it is one of the things I struggle with. Many people are afraid of the future, but it manifests in different ways for everyone.
I over think and stress a lot, which makes it hard to be present in the moments I’m living. For example, I don’t want to fail professionally and thinking of failure causes me fear and the fear causes anxiety and the anxiety causes more fear, making this a vicious cycle. Fear impacts my life in several ways: lack of sleep and sadness, mostly due to imaginary situations that don’t exist yet.
However, I think beyond my fears there is hope. Therefore, if I use what causes the fear in my favor, I will overcome what I fear the most. If failure causes fear, then I need to do everything in my power to succeed. If losing my parents causes fear, then I need to give them all the love I can while they are alive. If having a life with no purpose causes fear, then I need to give my life meaning every day.
Beyond my fears, there is hope. The positive side of the what ifs, the dreams I can accomplish, the laughter I can cherish and the love I will give. Being human is being fearful but being human is also being fearless. To me, fears are part of being vulnerable and they show what I really care about. However, courage is about facing them instead of using them as an excuse or shield. I think the first step to overcome fears is to recognize what causes them and truly believe, there is hope beyond them.
-Shanelle, 24
