Daily Meditation: Sunday, October 24, 2010

Fear - train yourself to overcome it

10/24/2010

Fear is natural. As an instinct it is very necessary to the survival of the human species, yet it can take completely irrational forms, to such an extent that it has been the ruin, instead of the saving, of a great many men and women. This is why you should not wait until you have to face great danger before training yourself to overcome fear. Every day, you have occasion to be suddenly confronted with facts and situations that can inspire fear in you. It may just be words - someone, for example, threatening to deprive you of something that matters to you or rejecting one of your good ideas. Instead of immediately taking fright and retaliating in an aggressive manner, slamming the door on your way out, say nothing and stay calm, for if you react impulsively it will only make matters worse. Who knows? These may just be empty threats. And even if they are real, you will be better able to face up to them if you know how to keep your head. Try to recall all the times when you reacted impulsively, because you were afraid of what seemed like danger, and then regretted it.