Will Fear Prevent your Success?

Did you know that today is Friday the 13th? In fact, it’s the only Friday the 13th this year, so I thought it deserved special recognition.

According to the founder of the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute, Dr. Dossey, "It's been estimated that $800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day because people will not fly or do business they would normally do." In addition, a British Medical Journal study has shown that there is a significant increase (as much as 52%) in traffic-related accidents on Fridays the 13th. They state that “ Staying at home is recommended.”

Will you stay home and let fear hold you back? Or will you look your fear in the face, weigh your options, and move forward?

Use your mind to refocus the negative thoughts into positive ones. Visualize yourself moving forward and literally conquering and climbing over your fear. Learning to accept our fears and face them provides us with the ability to challenge ourselves and grow stronger.

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.” (Eleanor Roosevelt)

If you’d like to know more about the history, myths, and reasons behind Friday the 13th, National Geographic did a fact filled article about it: Friday the 13th Phobia Rooted in Ancient History.

As a metaphor, does your own fear/s stop you from achieving success?

“Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself”: FDR’s First Inaugural Address

Franklin D. Roosevelt had campaigned against Herbert Hoover in the 1932 presidential election by saying as little as possible about what he might do if elected. Through even the closest working relationships, none of the president-elect’s most intimate associates felt they knew him well, with the exception perhaps of his wife, Eleanor. The affable, witty Roosevelt used his great personal charm to keep most people at a distance. In campaign speeches, he favored a buoyant, optimistic, gently paternal tone spiced with humor. But his first inaugural address took on an unusually solemn, religious quality. And for good reason—by 1933 the depression had reached its depth.

Roosevelt’s first inaugural address outlined in broad terms how he hoped to govern and reminded Americans that the nation’s “common difficulties” concerned “only material things.” Source: George Mason University

Living a life cluttered by overeating, stress, arguments, or preventative illness, etc., is, simply put, not worth it—what’s important is that you not give in to negativity.

Will you let today get you down? Will you let Friday the 13th interfere with your normal routine?

“Failure seldom stops you. What stops you is the fear of failure." (Jack Lemmon)

Don’t let fear get the best of you, even in your darkest and most difficult times, because

After all, it’s about a healthy lifestyle!

© Iowa Avenue

Photo courtesy of Violator3