A Flight away from ‘fright’ ‘Don't put me to test!’ said Jesus Christ
Thus, even the son of God feared fear. Day or a few hours before an examination, the student sees himself as the most pathetic and helpless soul, even hoping that the exam gets postponed. In covid times, the DG shipping has done a commendable job in organising the MMD written exams, but primarily the fear of examination supplemented by the fear of covid-19 itself has resulted in sloppy response.
Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of harm. Fear is the root cause of a lot of misery. Material attachments bring fear of their loss. People hoard money and possessions. Mistreat their fellow beings due to insecurity. In fact, all evil in the world is the outcome of some fear! There’s a saying ‘’ Chintaa chitaa samaan hai” or fear is akin to death.
Usually fear is an imaginary negative thought form. Is a small child afraid of playing with fire, or getting on to a bicycle, or putting his hand in a dog’s mouth? This is because fear doesn’t exist in a child until some adult scares him into believing that certain things are off limits for him or are something to be afraid of. Or unless he gets burnt by the fire, the physical sensation of pain sinks into his subconscious as fear- ‘to never approach the fire again’. Thus largely fear is a creation of the mind.
Some fears are desirable eg) the awareness that we should not jump off a high rise because we’ll get hurt. It is a God-gifted fear in us right from our birth and is meant to protect us. It is the fears that retard our lives, stop our growth, interfere in our career goals and restrict us, which we should do something about.
1. Switch the attention from fear to what we should be grateful for i.e) our life, our health, our parents, our teachers, our school, our friends, our city and our country. Purpose of life is the celebration of being alive!
2. Understanding our minuteness. That we are only a product of our surroundings.We and this world are one- by adopting this idea, fear disappears! With the perspective of this absolute unity, we automatically become calmer, kinder, less fearful and more open receptive and naturally connected to the rest of the world.
3. Whenever fear strikes, confront it by being positive. If we adopt a positive outlook, many of the people we meet will respond likewise. In general, no matter what we think about the world, people are only a mirror for us.
4. Everybody wishes predictability & control, although it’s impossible to achieve. When we don’t assume control, we experience fear. But, are we really in complete control ever? Even the best batsman could get out on a duck and a pacer hit for a six. One should give up the illusion of control & surrender to the Almighty. ‘Karmanyavadhikaaraste maa faleshu kadaachan’- Do your best & leave the rest to rest.
5. We should deeply analyse our fear- what thoughts generated it; where, when and why it surmounted us. One should be an observer of one’s inner space. We should ask ourselves of what could be the worst case scenario? Hear that inner voice. Face the fear and look at it in its eyes. Let the law of Murphy & the law of averages sleep in books; Choose freedom... Choose life.
Let’s understand Failure. Most of our fears are associated with the fear of failure, not being good enough or not living up to the standards society or family has put up for us. When we realize that failure is not the end of the world, we become free. Failure is just a stepping stone to success. Be the master of your own life.....and the beginning is by overcoming fear. If one can forget his fear and sincerely work towards one’s optimum potential, he is likely to do his best.
If fear or the high pass percentage demanded, or the huge failure rate observed in competency examination is preventing you into writing one for which you have been preparing, then just shun fear. Even if Godforbid you were to fail, you would certainly have a upper hand tackling it next time; Than if you sit home out of fear and get absent. Life is too short for regret and repents.
#Sea and coast