Please click here to listen to Episode 20 of the Minutes on Growth Podcast
Hi everyone,
It’s Tannaz Hosseinpour and welcome to another episode of minutes on growth. This episode, I want to discuss a word that I have been battling for years, FEAR. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been scared of something. Growing up it was of getting bitten by dogs, and when I got older, it was of heights. I still don’t know where the fears stemmed from, but I do know that they caused great inconveniences for me growing up. When I was moving away for university, a family friend of mine pulled me aside and gave me perhaps one of the most life-altering words of advice I have ever received. She said, ” the only thing to fear is fear itself.” As I was checking into my dorm room, I kept reciting that sentence and promised myself that I’d try to tackle my fears, because I did not want to live with regrets when I was older. After months of having numerous pep talks with myself, I decided to go to my friend’s house as she had a dog. I forced myself to sit next to the dog. Honestly, I couldn’t stop shaking and my hands were so sweaty, but I kept telling myself to hold on for a few more seconds. When I went home that night, I kept reliving that moment. I felt empowered – I had faced my fears and I had survived. Then I suddenly made a decision that changed my life. I went online and started browsing, and hours later I was on the road to an amish county in Pennsylvania to pick up my new puppy! Yes! ME. The girl who was petrified of dogs, was going to become a dog owner within hours. When I picked her up, my face was ghost white and I used a blanket to hold her because my fear was still there! The first week was an absolute comedy show. We kept chasing each other around the house because I still couldn’t get over my fear.. but day by day, I talked myself into shedding away a small piece of it.. and within a week, I was finally holding her and bathing her! She is now a member of my family and I cannot possibly imagine life without her. Once I got over my fear of dogs, I applied the same logic to all my other fears. I faced my fear of heights and jumped out of a plane. I still had not ridden myself completely of the fear so I went bungee jumping. I then went zip lining and recently I went on a one hour hot air balloon ride. I can now say that I am 90% over my fear of heights… I still get a bit scared when I’m on an escalator, but I’m making a conscious decision to go on more of them to finally free myself of it all. The decision I made in university to face my fears changed my life and it taught me that many of my fears have all been illusions and they hold no merit. I stopped allowing fear to stop me from living life. Instead, I learned to differentiate between fear and caution. When ever I was faced with a hard task, I asked myself if this was fear talking or caution … because if it was the former, I had to rethink it, get to the root of it and face it. In fact, after immigrating when I was 15, I developed a fear of change so ultimately, I had to force myself to move to 4 different countries to study and work to get over it. Was it easy? definitely not, but every time I moved somewhere new I made wonderful friends and memories, and learned so much! The universe truly gifts you unlimited blessings when you live with courage. So today, I ask you to think about your fears. Write them down. Then ask yourself how your fears have stopped you from living. How your fears have impacted your life decisions and goals. Do you really want to live with your fears forever? If not, then take a step forward and face them. I know it seems terrifying at first, but the more you face your fears, the faster fear’s mask will fall off and you’ll realize that it was all an illusion. remember, the only thing to fear is fear itself.
Thank you for listening and talk to you soon.
Love & Light, Tannaz Hosseinpour
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