Do you believe a person can overcome a fear by facing it?

[Leapfrog00]

Everyone has that one fear that holds them back. There are times when it can get to the point where it becomes debilitating. Do you believe a person can overcome a fear by facing it? I believe even if a person faces a fear once, they may have to face it again and again to truly overcome it. I've been working on a book series, and my characters go up against quite a bit of fear. I'm halfway through writing book number four.

Do you believe a person can overcome a fear by facing it? Do you have any fears that you're having difficulty overcoming? If so, what are they?

[veganrogue]

Absolutely. If you look at high risk sports like rock climbing. Alex Honnold was able to free climb El Capitan's 7500' or so without ropes or safety gear. Sure he experiences fear at some moments in the climb, but through thousands of hours of climbing and proper preparation, what would seem like a suicide mission to you or I, was just another day on El Cap for Alex.

The first time I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane with a parachute, my body was gripped with fear. Staring down from 14,000 feet out of the door of a tiny twin otter aircraft was a harrowing experience. After my fifth jump, I still felt fear, but nowhere near the levels of that first jump. I'm still afraid of heights, but with a parachute, I know I'm covered.

Something simple as approaching girls can be a terrifying experience. In my early teen years I would have rather died than spoke to a girl I was attracted to. Now I look back in retrospect and laugh at how different I am today than back then.

Now my current fear is 'imposter syndrome'. I've been a corporate slave for so many years, and now that my side hustle is starting to replace a good percentage of my income, will it last? Is this just a fluke? Should I quit my 25 year career and forego my hard earned salary? I believe that, just like Alex did hundreds of climbs up El Cap in preparation, I'm sure that in another year, once I prove it to myself, I'll quit, become financially independent and live my life on my terms.

[ChicoFromThe305]

Yes but not just once, it has to be repeated before someone gets a form of adjustment to it, for example I had a friend that when he first got to the 8th floor where I live, he was scared he would hug the wall and was scared to even look down, afyer enough times coming up to the 8th floor he adjusted to it that he could lean on the wall and look down like the rest of us, he adjusted.

[NathanDavis]

well, I did it...

among a few other things too, but primarily... facing it face forward, once and again... and one more time, and you survive...

[exitseven]

Yes, that is how it works. You have to make up your mind you will do something and then get your fear under control and do it.

[Blazingfang]

I think so. That first time might give a boost of cofidence to keep doing it.

By doing it lots of times, you get numb from it

[WhitneySnow]

It helps but it doesn’t always work 100%

[slatyb]

Yes.