Post 54: Embrace Your Fears.

I have been included in on-call support list for next month. The problem is i am still new with my workloads(requests etc.), and to handle Support Mailbox which is full with complex issues is something that i never think about and scared of. I doubt my confidence level since i think i am somehow lack of mainframe knowledge. How to boost my self-confidence ? Hence this post, i found this reading materials that might help me, and you :')

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. Except a creature be part coward, it is not a compliment to say it is brave - Mark Twain

Logic would dictate that overcoming something that frightens you make you stronger and more self-reliant. By embracing your fears, you are creating a much more efficient and practical way of dealing with them. You don't have to climb Mount Everest or jump out of a perfectly good airplane to move through your anxieties; oftentimes just dealing appropriately with the stress and worry of daily life can increase your self-confidence.

One of my friends is a successful physician who says that he is scared every day, and he welcomes it because he truly believes it makes him a better doctor. He is more careful and doesn't take unnecessary chances with his patients. It drives him to be his very best and makes him a more confident practitioner.

I was once told that faith is the opposite of fear, and whereas i see how having a belief in a higher power can make you feel safer, I also think that understanding why your fears exist, and learning the lessons they can teach us, are also very powerful tools.

For most of us there is a payoff to our fears. Yes, they can keep us physically safe so we don't step off a cliff or try to pet a tiger, but there is often more to our fears than just keeping ourselves protected. Fears can make us more introspective and help us see exactly where we need to make adjustments so that we have the strength to accomplish the task at hand. Having the confidence wrap your head around your fears and look at how they help or hurt you is a great exercise to help you not only overcome them, but also use them to accomplish your goals.

I don't know anyone who has overcome or embraced their fears and not been better off and more confident for it. Whatever it is that scares the hell out of you should be tackled with the insight that, by hitting it head-on, you will vanquish the demons that reside in your mind.



- Taken from Embrace Your Fears(Pg. 31 - 33) of 100 Ways to Boost Your Self-confidence - Dr. Barton Goldsmith