Fear is the absence of faith.

Fear gives all control to the negative aspects. You will always receive more of whatever you give your time, energy and focus. When you allow negative thoughts to creep into your mind, they become negative feelings and then negative expectations and thus negative results. Fear is nothing more than requesting negative results. That is not to say that none of us ever have challenges and setbacks. Of course we all do. The key is conquering the negative thought and replacing it with courage. The enemy is not outside us but inside our thoughts. Franklin D. Roosevelt reminded us that “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Fear is the greatest enemy of mankind. When we allow the emotion of fear to create anxiety, stress and depression, we have given it control of our lives.

Simply developing the habit of courage and determined self-confidence opens an entirely new realm of possibilities. If fear were not a factor, what would you dare to do? Would you finally start that business you have been dreaming about for years? Would you take that trip to visit another country? Would you have the courage to tell someone that you loved them?

Courage, like fear, can be learned. Repeat a thought or behavior until it becomes a habit. Looking on the positive side of every situation becomes a way of life. Your thoughts become conditioned to fit into that pattern. When you really look at your life and examine your thoughts, words, beliefs and actions, what pattern have you established for yourself?

Good news. Even if you have allowed fear and hesitation to hold you back in the past, you are free to start changing that pattern right now. Just for today, start reframing every negative or fearful thought into a positive. Start by doing that for ten minutes. You can convince yourself to do anything for ten minutes. Wait awhile and repeat another ten minutes or even twelve minutes. By gradually increasing your time, you start forming a new behavior pattern. You will find that you feel better. Your step has a bit more spring to it and your soul feels more peaceful and content. Celebrate that good feeling and commit to enjoying it more and more.

With more positive and courageous thoughts and a more peaceful feeling, you will start taking more constructive steps in every aspect of your life. Your relationships will become more congenial. Your business dealings will increasingly demonstrate more goodwill. The snowball effect will continue to expand until your life reflects more courage and confidence.

A quiet little grin will cross your face as you think about how your life has changed. You’ll wonder why you didn’t start that process years ago. We can’t go into retrograde but we can start today to live a life of courage and banish fear from our thoughts, words, feelings and actions. Live the live you desire. Life is a choice. Choose to have a good one.