What is the biggest inhibiting factor on your road to success? Of course, it should not be the lack of knowledge. If that were true, you would not have reached this position in life at all. Fear is the biggest inhibiting factor in life. It is the fear of the unknown, the fear of rejection that prevents people from achieving their objective.
When someone asks you to address a small gathering from a stage, you start experiencing stage fright. It is not that you do not know the subject. You fear that people might reject your ideas. This causes you to fumble on stage. This is the ‘Fear of the Unknown’. You do not actually know whether your fears will come true or not. In spite of this, you are afraid. You can call it ‘stage fright’. How do you overcome this stage fright? This example from the life of Swami Vivekananda can help you in this matter.
The story goes back to the time when the Swami was a young lad. He was walking along the road when a group of monkeys started bothering him. He started to run. To his dismay, the monkeys started following him. At that time, a passing mendicant yelled at the Swami, “Turn and face the brutes.” Not having any other option before him, the Swami stopped and faced the monkeys. Immediately, the chattering stopped and the monkeys started dispersing. He had conquered his fear. This lesson remained with him all his life. He went on to become one of the greatest orators of all time. What do you learn from this lesson?
The lesson is that you have to confront your problems headlong. You will find an immediate solution. Laura Porreca, a motivational speaker of repute, advocates the same line of thought in her inspirational video presentation, “7 daily habits.” Going through the video can improve your outlook towards life in a big way.