Conquer Your Fears
“Those who have the courage to conquer fear are made free.
Those who are conquered by it are made to suffer,
until they have the courage to defeat it.”
- Alexander the Great
Do you watch TV news anymore? That’s some scary stuff. The doom, gloom and general hopelessness that is expounded in every word will leave you afraid of the world coming to an end any second.
Think of the fear that is being spewed out to those who actually watch these programs. It could make you shelter in place and never leave your house again.
“Fear” is a powerful emotion. It can stop you from moving forward. It can close off new ideas. It can keep you awake. It can keep you stuck. It can be such a force that your life stops completely.
That is what “fear” can do when you allow it to control you. But when you control your mindset, your fears will vanish.
What do I mean? Simple. What are you afraid of? Dying? Here is the truth … we’re all going to die. What you control is how you are going to live. You’re afraid of what other people think about you? You would be surprised to know that most people are so consumed with their lives that they don’t have time to think of you at all. Losing your job? You’ll find another one, and it will be better than what you have right now.
Think of all those scary things when we were kids. Something under the bed. Something in the closet. Standing up in front of the class. There was nothing under the bed, nothing in the closet and you survived standing up in the front of the class.
The same goes for the fears you have right now. When you allow others to make you worry and fret about what might be, you allow them to control you. Take over your life and control your future.
Let me give you a great example.
Fear and an Optimal Life
Crazy Horse as a child looked different than the other kids. He had light brown curly hair. His family had named him Curly. Because he was different the other children feared and shunned the young boy. Rather than change to be like them - he became independent - and lived a solitary life - marching to the beat of his own drum.
Crazy Horse, as an adolescent, used fear to challenge himself to do more and become more powerful within himself. Because it was not odd for Crazy Horse to ride off on his own no one saw him climb the impossible - swim the impossible or fight the impossible. His feats of daring were for him - not to prove he was better - but to know he was better.
Crazy Horse as a young warrior used fear as an advantage in skirmishes with settlers and small units of soldiers. To gain horses, he would ride into a settler’s wagon encampment and just take horses, all the time singing his life song at the top of his lungs while not firing one shot. His bravado scared the settlers and their families into a state of shock and inaction. When he found a detail of troops collecting wood, he would ride amongst them touching them with his coup stick. He could have killed them with his rifle - but to be close enough to touch them and not be injured and not kill them was of greater merit. The fear they had of one warrior changed how they reacted. Their fear emboldened the young warrior.
Crazy Horse rejected fear of death in battle by using totems. The bird feathers of a red hawk in his hair, the spirit bag he wore around his neck, a small stone tied behind his ear and the face painting of the lightning bolt on his face and blue hail on his chest (that were mimicked on his war pony). All of which came to him in his vision quest. He saw a warrior riding through a hail of arrows and bullets - never being touched. He had no fear of dying.
This was demonstrated time and time again when he would ride out in the open and make himself a target for the soldiers. As the soldiers took their shots at Crazy Horse it allowed his warriors to move to a better vantage point and eventually gain leverage on his enemies.
The only thing that worried Crazy Horse was the end of his free traveling lifestyle. The buffalo herds were dwindling, and the deer and other wild animals were gone. He tried to stay with other bands of the Sioux but would soon be asked to leave when the reigning chief began to lose the respect of his young warriors who wanted to live the free life that Crazy Horse lived.
Soon Crazy Horse decided to face the inevitable. You see he not only had envisioned his defense from death in battle, but he had seen his own demise.
The vision was clear - he would be confronted with an iron house with bars in the windows but his death would be aided by his own people. And on September 6th, 1877, in front of the guard house at Fort Robinson - while being held by Little Big Man, Private William Gentles thrust a bayonet into his back, piercing his liver.
Crazy Horse died later that evening.
Crazy Horse’s life is a master class in the use of fear to his advantage.
· As a child, he was different - other children were afraid of him. They used their fear to disparage the child. Instead of falling into the trap of allowing others decide his value - Crazy Horse followed his own path
· As an adolescent he faced his fears to strengthen himself.
· As a young warrior he used the fear others had of him to enrich his people and his own standing.
· As a warrior he did not fear his own death - but would sacrifice himself for the safety of his warriors. Loyalty was the pay off!
· Finally, he feared his lifestyle had vanished and saw no reason to continue. Knowing his end was near he rode towards his end (vision) and completed his story.
Five ways of using fear. We also face each of these - how do we respond? Can we learn from the great warrior on how he controlled fear and made it work for him?
Think long and hard about his life and how you can live the life of a warrior!
Controlling Your Fears
You are no different than Crazy Horse.
He had opportunities to be “afraid” or have “fear” in his life but he opted for another way.
He controlled his mindset and used these fears as an accelerant for his life. He refused to be hemmed in by what others thought of him or by what others tried to make him conform to. He led his life. He understood his place so he lived it on his terms.
Crazy Horse also saw his end. Did he run away? No, he faced his vision, knowing that this was the way his path would end. Not to get on the pulpit but, Jesus knew His end. He faced the trials and pain of His passion rather than turn away when His moment came.
Live a powerful life. Live a life of action and excitement, not of fear and missed opportunities. You get one chance at living your optimal life so push yourself out of your “fear zone”.
Set your mind on living life to its fullest. You will be glad you did.
Have an amazing day!
