The first step in controlling a fear is knowing how to identify it. Know your fears. Before reading what follows, remember: some fears are hidden in our subconscious and that is why it is difficult to locate them and consequently eliminate them.

According to Hill (2018)* there are 6 basic fears:
1) Fear of Poverty
2) Fear of Criticism
3) Fear of Disease
4) Fear of Losing Someone's Love
5) Fear of Old Age
6) Fear of Death

Fears turn out to be your state of mind, and your state of mind is under your control. I know, it's harder than the phrase would have you believe. In any case, the first step in controlling a fear is knowing how to identify it. Lack of ambition; indecision; doubt; excessive worry; procrastination; inhibition; feeling of inferiority; hypochondria; self-pity; jealousy; lack of enthusiasm; insecurity; anxiety are some examples of "symptoms" that can help us identify certain fears. These fears are not about an immediate, concrete, and real danger, but about something that might (or might not) happen. It's not happening right now. You are in the present moment, but your mind is in the future, causing an anxiety gap.

Exercise
Know your fears
Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths and relax. Can you identify any of these fears in yourself? Reflect and write about it. Write down any doubts you have. Return to this reflection on different days if necessary to clarify what you've written. Without haste, pack your ideas. Try answering some of the following questions:

a) Do you have a habit of postponing things until "tomorrow"?
b) Do you devalue the success of others?
c) Are you a jealous person?
d) Do you often feel sorry for yourself?
e) Do you usually express yourself in public with shaky voice control and nervousness?
f) Do you have difficulty making decisions?
g) Do you feel the need to demonstrate “more than what you have”?
h) Are you ambitious?
If you answered "yes" to some questions, try now to answer "why."

*Hill, N. (2018). Think and grow rich. Paperback

 

Carolina Trindade, clinical psychologist