The Six Ghosts of Fear

According to Napoleon Hill, author of the 1937 personal-finance classic "Think and Grow Rich," there are six basic fears in life, and every human being suffers from them at some point.

These fears, Hill writes, are the psychological reasons keeping some people from ever becoming rich.

Hill maintains that "fears are nothing more than states of mind," and that "one's state of mind is subject to control and direction."

In other words, you can avoid them. But, as Hill writes, "Before we can master an enemy, we must know its name, its habits, and its place of abode."

As you can probably tell already, Hill's language — and some of his ideas — come across as a little dated, but Hill was clearly clued in to the idea that success might not be just about how much money you earn, but also how you choose to think.

The fears are:

1. The fear of poverty

According to Hill, the fear of poverty is both the most destructive and the hardest to master of the six fears. This is because of what Hill refers to as "money madness."

People "prey" on one another financially to attain the most money. The author points out "a man is considered less than the dust of the earth, unless he can display a fat bank account." He continues: "Nothing brings man so much suffering and humility as poverty!"

To conquer this fear, Hill says, you must create a desire for riches and completely banish the option of poverty. You must be unwilling to accept poverty.

2. The fear of criticism

Hill says the roots of this fear can be traced back to the times when people used to be burned at the stake if they expressed beliefs that were contrary to common beliefs held at the time. He writes that criticism often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that can hold people back from being successful — and rich.

According to the author, criticism does nothing but instill fear and resentment in people, and parents, relatives, and employers should not use it: "Employers who understand human nature, get the best there is in men, not by criticism, but by constructive suggestion."

3. The fear of ill health

People fear sickness because they know it could, in an extreme case, lead to death. Hill says people also fear sickness because of the "economic toll" a sickness can take on the person it affects. For example, a severe illness could eliminate your ability to work, which would also eliminate your livelihood. 

The author cites hypochondria and says that people are often the creators of their own illness. The more people think they are sick or are told they are sick, the more likely they are to actually become sick, which then negatively affects their ability to reach their wealth goals. 

4. The fear of loss of love

According to Hill, this fear comes from "man's polygamous habit of stealing his fellow man's mate." He says it's the most painful of the six fears and that it "probably plays more havoc with the body and mind than any of the other basic fears, as it often leads to permanent insanity." The author says this fear makes people less likely to trust others and more likely to gamble, which can result in spending more than you have and incurring debt.

5. The fear of old age

Hill says that behind people's fear of old age is their fear of the possibility of poverty. "'Poorhouse' is not a pretty word," Hill writes. "It throws a chill into the mind of every person who faces the possibility of having to spend his declining years on a poor farm."

The author points out that old age threatens not only a person's economic freedom and independence, but also their physical freedom and independence. 

6. The fear of death

The fear of death comes from the fear of the unknown, Hill says. No one truly knows what comes after death, which is why it scares people. Hill says the fear of death leads to a "lack of purpose" and "lack of a suitable occupation." Without an occupation, it's hard to become rich.

The author maintains that for some people, this is the cruelest fear. At the same time, he thinks the fear is useless. "Death will come, no matter what anyone may think about it," Hill writes. "Accept it as a necessity, and pass the thought out of your mind. It must be a necessity, or it would not come at all."

Copyright with thanks

http://uk.businessinsider.com/life-fears-that-keep-you-poor-2015-4?r=US&IR=T

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Change the Way You See Fear and Change Your Life

When was the last time you took a risk? Not something major and life-threatening, but something that represented a step outside your comfort zone. Can you recall a time recently when you did something that felt uncomfortable for you? If not, get ready to take a major step forward.

Frequently, in business and in life, we get too comfortable. We find solid ground – a place that feels safe – we get comfortable, and we settle in. We’re programmed to do it. It’s how we operate. Look for safety and stay there. But these days, it’s imperative that we act against our programming to truly succeed and find our own greatness.

What’s holding us back? Ultimately, it’s fear.  It’s almost always fear. Fear is the number one reason why people stay in their safety zones. It’s why people don’t start new businesses. It’s why people stop looking for love. But what are we afraid of? After studying fear for several years and working with countless clients who were letting fear hold them back, I’ve become convinced that when it comes down to stepping outside one’s comfort zone, there are really two things at work for most people: fear of success and fear of failure.

Fear of Success

Many people say they have a fear of success. What does this mean? It means that when these folks envision their success, they see the ways in which they’ll disappoint people, the ways they won’t be able to handle the success, the ways they’ll mess up their success… ultimately, I actually believe that a fear of success is a fear of failure in disguise. In my experience, most people aren’t actually afraid of success, but rather of failing after the success. They’re afraid they can’t handle it and they’ll fall much farther than if they’d never tried at all. It’s much more painful to fall from, say, a 20-story building, than it is to fall from a sidewalk curb. It’s the fall from the height of success that we fear, not the success itself.

Fear of Failure

Let’s look at fear of failure, since that’s at the core of what’s holding people back. I’ve recently updated my thoughts about fear of failure. I’ve been reading Seth Godin’s book, Tribes, and Godin has some absolutely profound and brilliant thoughts on the fear that keeps us in our comfort zones. InTribes, Godin says that there’s a common misconception about a fear of failure. He says that the fear of failure isn’t actually fear of failure at all – it’s a fear of criticism. We’re more afraid of being judged for our failures than anything else.

So now that we’ve isolated this fear of criticism, what does one do about it? How do you conquer the one thing that  gets in the way more than anything else- more than lack of skills, more than lack of knowledge, more than bad luck or anything else you might think of – how do you conquer fear?

How Do You Conquer Fear?

It would be easy for me to say that you just shouldn’t care what others think about you. What they say doesn’t matter, doesn’t define you, has nothing to do with you. I could easily say that. But the problem is that we’re not just subject to the criticism of others when we fail. We still have to face our harshest critic: ourselves.

But here’s the secret most people don’t know. It’s a secret that most successful people know. You don’t actually have to “conquer” fear. You have to master it. Mark Twain once said, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear.” Successful people aren’t people who conquered fear, they’re people who faced fear. They’re people who were afraid and did it anyway.

For example, one of the most prevalent, persistent fears people have is public speaking. It’s something most of us don’t do very often and it’s something most of us don’t particularly care for. I’m one of the oddities – I actually love speaking to groups. But like many others I know who enjoy public speaking, I get nervous before I go on stage. My palms sweat, I think about how I wish I’d never agreed to do the gig, and I think of all the ways I can get out of doing it. And then I step on stage anyway, and within a few moments, I’m actually having so much fun connecting to the crowd that I forget all the fear and just live in that moment. That’s mastering fear, folks. That’s what it’s all about.

A part of it is doing something over and over and showing yourself that you can do that thing. That builds confidence and confidence is a formidable tool against fear. Usually we’re afraid of the stuff we’re not very good at. What are you afraid of?  Think about that for a minute and then when you have the answer, ask yourself how often you do that thing.  If you’re not very good at something, you tend to fear it.  If you make a decision to face the fear and forge ahead with courage, you’ll eventually make courage a habit- and you’ll master that fear.

So what’s holding you back right now?  What are you afraid of, and how can you face that fear with courage? Here’s an exercise to help people face their fears:

Take out a piece of paper and a pen and turn the paper on its side so you’re writing across the long side.  Make five columns on your paper.  In the first column, make a list of the things that scare you the most.  Then in the second column, for each of those fears, write down what is the absolute worst thing that could happen if your fears came true.  In the third column, write down how likely the worst thing is to happen.  Then in the fourth column, write down how that fear is holding you back.  In the last column,for at least one of the fears you’ve listed, write down how you are going to face that fear. Make it tangible- give yourself an action to take and a date by which you will take that action. And follow through!

Look, everybody is afraid of something. The most successful people have mastered fear with courage and learned to forge ahead.  Today, make a decision to forge ahead with something in your life or in your business.  Make a decision to face at least one of your fears. Take a risk and get better at something you’re afraid of.  Face a fear with courage and you’ll see payoffs emerging faster than you ever could  have imagined.

With thanks to Susan Baroncini-Moe

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/change-the-way-you-see-fear-and-change-your-life.html