Managing Fear

March 10, 2009 by Milton Kamwendo
Filed under: Unleashing Greatness 

Perhaps the biggest limitation that humans face is fear. Fear freezes the flow of ideas, torments and disables. We just cannot afford to sacrifice the future on the altar of fear. Until we move beyond our fear we will never grow. Snakes shed when they grow too big for their skin, comparable to the way humans outgrow clothing. The old skin is shed when the new skin has fully formed underneath the surface of the old skin. I imagine that the first time a snake sheds off its skin it is afraid, it is taking a life threatening risk. In life there are a lot of things to make us afraid but there is a lot more in our faith for a future beckoning greatness to make us unafraid. We block our dreams and our prayers when we allow our fears to grow bigger than our faith.

Change involves risk
For snakes, skin shedding is not always without incident. It is possible for things to go wrong for the snake. For instance, if snakes shed their skin when the humidity in the air is too low, the skin can be too dry to shed. Portions of the old skin that remain attached can harbor parasites or a breeding ground for disease. If the tip of the tail fails to shed correctly, it can cut off the snake’s blood flow over time and cause the end portion of the tail to come off. This is why at times we see snakes or reptiles without tails. In life the risk of changing is much lower than the risk of failing to change.

The way to overcome fear is to be so wrapped up in big dreams of greatness that we forget to be afraid. Fear is usually the lengthened shadow of ignorance and the excuse that those who are lazy easily resort to. Anything that is worthwhile initially looks daunting, scary and impossible. Yet, just a few determined steps up the road the skies of doubt clear. Leading in a time of turbulence is difficult when one is a follower of fear.

Inevitable Change
Change is inevitable in life and in business. When we accept that change is a necessary part of our lives it becomes less traumatic. We can choose to embrace and hold on to our bruised and diseased skins of yesterday. We can also choose differently. We can choose to shed of the old skin - marred by prejudice, scarred by suspicion, diseased by polarization and embrace a new skin of hope. There may be no room anywhere close for us to turn, but the room for improvement is always there. Perhaps Maurice Freeman’s question points the way: “Who is more foolish, the child afraid of the dark or the man afraid of the light?”

To your greatness,

Milton Kamwendo

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Comments

3 Responses to “Managing Fear”

  1. charles on March 10th, 2009 11:05 pm

    Thanks for the inspiring words, surely we should not be immobilised be our fears.

    Lets move out of our comfort zones and move up the greatness ladder

  2. chipo makalani on March 27th, 2009 3:27 pm

    the message is indeed inspiring. i find that most of us fail to unleash the greatness in us because we are afraid of the known and the unknown.we fail to be the great achievers because we fear taking risks and sheddin off the old skin.we are too comfortable and we feel safe in our fears.your article helps,thanx

  3. Pfungwa Nyamukachi on April 3rd, 2009 10:50 am

    Thank you very much. this article touched me and inspired me.

    Thank you!

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