How I Have Challenged My Fear

Everybody is driven by an internal force called fear.It can come up in different forms. A little fear is required because it acts as an intrinsic fuel to run ourselves. We take medicines because we fear death, and we work hard because we fear failure. However, fear is something that kills our interests, passions and courage.

When I was in school, I vividly remember when my class teacher selected me from the class for an inter-class speech competition, I worked hard preparing and rehearsing it in front of the mirror. The topic was simple and I thought I could speak on it for hours. Nevertheless, when the time finally came to speak on the stage, I got perplexed seeing hundreds of students around. My hands got frozen yet my body temperature rose. My legs started trembling and my throat dried up. I felt as if I was suffocating and I ran away crying from the stage. I was scared of facing people and thought about what they will say after the incident.

Fear exists in human mind in different forms. When I was a kid, I thought my father was the most powerful person and I was scared of him. Perhaps some people are scared of spiders, ghosts or height, while others are scared of losing someone. Fear limits ourselves to our comfort zone and cuts our wings to fly higher and dream bigger.

I always wanted to challenge myself. My class teacher always told me that the best way to overcome any problem is to face it and deal with it. I believe in patience and perseverance. Therefore, I promised myself that I would grasp as much opportunities I could get.

During high school, all I did was explored myself to the fullest. I dared to come out of my comfort zone and got the ability to do things I had never imagined doing. I joined student club called The Maths Club, and I as program coordinator designed and executed the first ever National Competition on college. I was learning practical skills like team building, networking and so on and I was no longer afraid to dream big. I started working as a volunteer teacher for underprivileged children in one of the college’s extended programs. Working as a teacher in the morning and a student during the daytime helped me develop different perspectives in life. I started to open up and develop confidence and courage to express myself.

After high school, I joined a few Not-For-Profits and I got the opportunity to organize events, deliver sessions and also lead a team of 15-20 people working for the same vision. Little did I know that the kid who feared his father was doing awareness sessions for people with his father-like ages.

Normal fear is good but the excess fear is injurious to the growth of a person. It is the factor that stops most people from doing what they want. Overcoming fear is never a bed of roses but all we need is patience and persistence. Once the person gets out of the comfort zone, s/he is simply unstoppable. I have a simple goal in life: to be happy and learn something new everyday. I am not afraid of accepting new challenges that I feel are worthy and above all I have developed courage over fear. 

Works Cited

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