Screaming At Monsters

He was scared of the monsters.

He was only about 5. It was halloween. Everyone wanted to go in the boy scout haunted house.

He wanted to too but he was too scared. He cried and clung to Mom.

But then she told him a secret.

Sempai said: “Honey you don’t need to be scared. There is a secret to not being afraid. You are only scared because the monsters are scaring you. But if you decide it’s your job to scare THEM you can’t be afraid”.

Forrest’s jaw fell open. Could it be that simple?

They went through the haunted house together. At every corner Forrest would leap out in front of the group, his hands curved into scary claws and and snarl ARRHHHHHHHHHHH!

He never had so much fun in his life.

Fear is like that.

You can’t be afraid when your working on something. When your actively moving toward your goals. When you are taking ground.

Take back your ground. Stamp out fear. Here are a couple of ideas to help you.

• The company you keep.

Pay attention to who you surround yourself with. Some people delight in taking little problems and blowing them way out of proportion. They do it because they feel scared and worried and they want you to feel just like them.

But you can never be poor enough to make someone rich. You can never be angry enough to make someone happy. And you can never be afraid enough to make someone feel at peace.

Avoid these people. Excuse yourself and go to the bathroom. Move if you have to.

They simply are not worth it.

Instead surround yourself with people that encourage, uplift and downplay problems. Because those people are almost always right.

I don't know how it works but it’s true. Winners win.

Winners make things easier, lighter, more fun. Hang out with winners and you’ll win too.

• Think in terms of “directions” and not goals.

Most goal setting is BS. Traditional goal setting was created in the workforce by managers who wanted to squeeze every last drop of productivity out of their employees. But life is not like that.

A tree doesn’t decide how high it’s going to grow next year. A flower doesn’t decide when it’s going to bloom. Instead they do the best they can to do one thing right now. To grow!

How much does nature grow?

A little bit every day. A little bit every day in the direction of what IT wants.

To be free of fear focus on what you want and take a few tiny 1% steps toward it today. You will feel a ton better fast.

• Realize what fear is then TAKE ACTION.

If you walked into a room and smelled a chemical that was making you sick you’d leave the room. That’s because the sick feeling is telling you are exposed to something bad for you.

When you let yourself stay in fear it’s bad for you. When you are afraid you’re letting the bastards win.

Fear means you are listening to the wrong thoughts. You’re in the wrong room.

Step out of that room and focus on anything that makes you happy. Go for a walk. Write. Create. Make a few business calls. Don’t sit there like a pinata. Fear will keep taking blind swings at you.

It’s hard to take action when we don’t feel like it. It’s almost as if fear is saying: “Focus on this, pick at this with me”.

But you have to be strong enough to say: “No thank you”.

Because when you don’t feel like doing something that you usually need to do it  most.

Does the fat person feel like going for a walk? No - but if he doesn’t he’ll stay fat.

Does the poor person feel like saving? No - but if he doesn’t he’ll stay poor.

Does the shy guy really feel like asking her out? No - but if he doesn’t he’ll stay single.

When you are afraid do you really feel like finding ways to grow?...

                      ... No - but you do it anyway. Because if you don’t you’ll always be afraid!

Just like I was before I wrote you this.