// September 14th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Faith, Life
Guest Post by Andrew Barrows
“All men die; few men ever really live.” That phrase can either be exhilarating or depressing depending on the individual. If when you read that phrase a pit forms in your stomach and you begin to feel uncomfortable you’re thought process is debilitating you. If when you read that phrase a smile comes to your face because you know that not only are you living but you are one of the few in the world that is, embrace that because you are allowing yourself to reach your full potential.
At a person’s core, the people in the first group are the same as the people in the second group. The difference between the two is the second group has developed a skill that the first group has not. We as humans have a built in defense mechanism called fear. From early on we are taught to believe that those with courage and valor have no fear, aka those that really live. Growing up we even had t-shirts with the phrase “no fear” plastered all over it. It’s the bottom of the ninth, two outs, full count bases loaded down by three…….No Fear!!! But that is where we go wrong as a society. We attempt to teach our children and one another that fear is to be overcome by the process of removal when it really is overcome by the process of acceptance.
When we can recognize and accept the fears in our daily lives we can then manage them and therefore overcome them. Every day fears enter our minds. Wake up or you’re going to miss work, don’t swerve into traffic or you will die, don’t talk in the meeting because you might be wrong and get fired, don’t talk to that girl she might reject you, etc. As you can see some fears are good, they force you to avoid dangers in life but as you also can see some fears are bad and will stunt you from reaching your highest potential.
Now some men are wired in a way where they do not allow those negative thoughts to affect their actions. They manage those fears either subconsciously or consciously depending on the person and situation. But for 99% of the population we allow those debilitating fears to negatively affect our actions on a daily basis. So 99% of the people in the world are not living not because they are born cowards but because they are lacking an essential tool for success.
So if you are one of those people that are already really living keep at it you most likely already do this. But if you think you might allow fear to hold you back from time to time, start observing your thoughts when you get uncomfortable. Listen to what you are thinking and telling yourself. Odds are you are giving yourself bad advice and/or filling your head with negative thoughts both of which stop you from living life to the fullest and reaching your full potential.
Don’t be discouraged if you are not a part of the first group, the exciting thing about it is that it doesn’t have to stay that way. This is not a group you have to be born into. All you need is to do is equip yourself with the right tool for success.
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