An injury or medical challenge can deprive us of our physical vitality, but fear, oppressive fear has the mastery to seize our physical, emotional, and spiritual strength, leaving us in a space of vacuous bewilderment. 

The following quotations are meant to be a companion blog to “How to Live Fearlessly: 10 Wellness Tips for a Happier Life.” The hypothesis is pretty straightforward; if fear and hopelessness are a state of being, so can faith, hope, vitality - indeed happiness. We choose to be Conquerors of  Fear.

And while the premise might be linear, the reality is, our brains have been wired by evolution to default to negativity and fear. But there is excellent news, neuroplasticity. Yes, old dogs can indeed learn new tricks. Our malleable brains can be rewired. Our neuro-circuitry can be re-engineered. There is a way out of this emotionally repetitive fight-or-flight predicament that evolution has imposed on us.

Consequently, our goal of overcoming oppressive fear necessitates us adopting a new behavioral approach, practicing positivity – with repetitive intentionality and mindfulness. According to a 2009 study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, it takes us anywhere from 18 days to 254 days to form a new habit. The study also concluded that, on average, it takes about 66 days of repetitive action for a new behavior to become automatic. I usually fall into the average – 66 days – but the range is pretty wide, 18 days to 254 days. Thirty-one days, therefore, is a very workable starting point on our fear-conquering journey.

For the following thirty-one days, you are encouraged to carve out your Sanctuary of Serenity – your quiet space – whatever time or place works for you. Through meditation, affirmation, visualization, and whatever spiritual path works for you, confront the metaphorical monster – fear.

Because hope and happiness cannot wait, we must expedite this quest with tranquil resolve, to rid ourselves of oppressive fear. Hope is an ennobling, empowering, and deserving option. Boldly choose.

Day #1

What is the fear of living? It's being preeminently afraid of dying. It is not doing what you came here to do, out of timidity and spinelessness. The antidote is to take full responsibility for yourself - for the time you take up and the space you occupy. If you don't know what you're here to do, then just do some good. ~ Maya Angelou

Day #2

Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold. ~ Helen Keller

Day #3

Never be afraid to sit a while and think. ~ Lorraine Hansberry

Day #4

Fear can be good when you're walking past an alley at night or when you need to check the locks on your doors before you go to bed, but it's not good when you have a goal and you're fearful of obstacles. We often get trapped by our fears, but anyone who has had success has failed before. ~ Queen Latifah

Day #5

Fear tastes like a rusty knife and do not let her into your house. ~ John Cheever

Day #6

No good work is ever done while the heart is hot and anxious and fretted. ~ Olive Schreiner

Day #7

Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering. ~ Yoda

Day #8

This is all you have. This is not a dry run. This is your life. If you want to fritter it away with your fears, then you will fritter it away, but you won't get it back later. ~ Laura Schlessinger

Day #9

There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them. ~ Andre Gide

Day #10

Each of us must confront our own fears, must come face to face with them. How we handle our fears will determine where we go with the rest of our lives. To experience adventure or to be limited by the fear of it.” ~ Judy Blume

Day #11

Hate is the consequence of fear; we fear something before we hate it; a child who fears noises becomes a man who hates noise. ~ Cyril Connolly

Day #12

We fear violence less than our own feelings. Personal, private, solitary pain is more terrifying than what anyone else can inflict. ~ Jim Morrison

Day #13

Every man, through fear, mugs his aspirations a dozen times a day. ~ Brendan Behan

Day #14

A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for. ~ John A. Shedd

Day #15

Fear is that remorse of yesterday, and that anxiety for tomorrow that conspires to paralyze today. ~ Louis M. Brown

Day #16

To fight fear, act. To increase fear - wait, put off postpone. ~ David Joseph Schwartz

Day #17

Minds that are ill at ease are agitated by both hope and fear. ~ Ovid

Day #18

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less. ~ Marie Curie

Day #19

I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure. I have nights when I show up at the arena and I'm like, 'My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don't have it. I just want to chill.' We all have self-doubt. You don't deny it, but you also don't capitulate to it. You embrace it. ~ Kobe Bryant

Day #20

If you look into your own heart, and you find nothing wrong there, what is there to worry about? What is there to fear? ~ Confucius

Day #21

I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear. ~ Rosa Parks

Day #22

Whatever you fear most has no power – it is your fear that has the power. ~ Oprah Winfrey

Day #23

Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. Inaction is not only the result, but the cause, of fear. Perhaps the action you take will be successful; perhaps different actions or adjustments will have to follow. But any action is better than no action at all. ~ Norman Vincent Peale

Day #24

I've learned that fear limits you and your vision. It serves as blinders to what may be just a few steps down the road for you. The journey is valuable, but believing in your talents, your abilities, and your self-worth can empower you to walk down an even brighter path. Transforming fear into freedom - how great is that? ~ Soledad O'Brien

Day #25

Fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realize that right now we are okay. Right now, today, we are still alive, and our bodies are working marvelously. Our eyes can still see the beautiful sky. Our ears can still hear the voices of our loved ones. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Day #26

Ultimately we know deeply that the other side of every fear is freedom. ~ Marilyn Ferguson

Day #27

Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live. ~ Dorothy Thompson

Day #28

To him who is in fear everything rustles. ~ Sopholes

Day #29

Keep your dreams ALIVE. No matter how hard it gets, no matter how many people talk about you; they’re going to throw dirt on you but that’s alright, when they put you in that box (after you’re dead) , they’re going to put dirt on you some more, so that’s okay- GO, don’t be afraid, have NO FEAR. ~ Tyler Perry

Day # 30

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. ~ Nelson Mandela

Day # 31

If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it – then I can achieve it. ~ Muhammad Ali

Concluding Thoughts

Trusted Sources on Habit Forming

How Long Does It Actually Take to Form a New Habit? (Backed by Science) | HuffPost Life.

Habit Formation | Psychology Today.

How to Retrain Your Brain for Success and Positivity ~ University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences

What is Neuroplasticity: Veterans Affairs (gov)

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