InspirationMessages

Originally posted to the fifa.com World Cup site.

Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld has put the number of FIFA World Cup™ first round shocks down to the fear of failure.

The Swiss pulled off arguably the result of the tournament to date when they defeated reigning European champions Spain 1-0 in their opening Group H match, but there have been plenty of other surprises. France’s FIFA World Cup has dissolved into chaos following a 0-0 draw with Uruguay and a 2-0 defeat by Mexico, while England could only draw with the United States and Algeria and holders Italy have taken just a point apiece from their games against Paraguay and New Zealand.

Hitzfeld said: “The favourites and the stronger teams have a lot of pressure during the group phase because everybody just takes it for granted that they will reach the round of 16. There is always the fear of failure and if you struggle, you become nervous, and that’s when the underdogs have an opportunity to create a surprise.”

Switzerland did just that against the Spaniards to give themselves a great platform to progress, and Hitzfeld will settle for nothing less than a place in the last 16 as he prepares for today’s clash with Chile in Port Elizabeth.

He said: “I have full confidence in my team, and our object is to reach the round of 16, and then we will just take it as it comes. But first, we have to do the groundwork, and that means securing first or second position in our group. That’s what we intend to do and then we will take it as it comes. But we will not make the mistake of overestimating ourselves. We have to work hard for every achievement, but we are on the right path.”

Standing in their way today will be a Chile side who know they will need to leave Port Elizabeth with something to show for their efforts ahead of their own showdown with Spain. Hitzfeld voiced the opinion ahead of the game that Chile would be the favourites, but opposite number Marcelo Bielsa disagrees.

He said: “In this World Cup, if there is something that is not allowed, it is to believe you know who will win. Normally, there are no favourites in this competition, and even less so in this than any other World Cup. Let’s not forget that Spain came to this World Cup as the best team in the world, and deservedly so. The Swiss victory was very valuable to them, and you should give credit to Switzerland for that rather than taking it away from Spain.”

http://img.fifa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=1252968/index.html

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“Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself – nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyses needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt in his inaugural address, 4 March 1933

It is fear that stops so many people from achieving their potential. It makes goals seem impossible, leads to procrastination and so ensures the abandonment of dreams. Fear is probably the primary cause of a loss of confidence and leads to economic recessions.

How To Overcome Fear

How do we combat fear? All we have to do is MAKE fear less frightening. Okay, this is a mnemonic thing.

• Motivation
• Action
• Knowledge
• Educate Your Thinking

Motivation

The key here is to find a purpose, which is more important than the fear.

As an example, if you were watching your child play outside your house and you saw a strange man take her by the hand and lead her away would you shrug and let him do it or would you drop everything, charge out the door and rip the man to shreds to get your daughter back?

Sure, this is not a great illustration but it does show that you would be motivated beyond fear.

Action

This may seem too simple but often just taking action will destroy the fear. It is quite likely you will realize what it was you feared never existed at all and the euphoria you feel at defeating the fear will make it worth the effort.

In his book ‘The Magic Of Thinking Big,’ David J Schwartz tells how just acting confidently will make you feel confident.

When you go to a conference, for example, sit in the front row and you will be a part of the event. People will warm to you if you use eye contact during conversations and smile. They will also find you more honest and you will feel happier. At a meeting you may have a contribution to make: don’t hold back but speak up. I remember being told, ‘the only stupid question is the one you don’t ask.’

Make your body language more confident. Walk faster, hold your head up and your body erect. To understand this, watch the competitors at the end of a sports event. The losers hang their heads and walk slowly while the winners stand erect and confident and run.

A year ago I experienced this for myself. I had a disciplinary meeting at work with a manager who was frankly a bully. I deliberately smiled, gave him good eye contact and ensured I spoke up when required. The manager who had wanted me to cower before him ended up backing down when he realized he was to be frustrated.

Knowledge

Fear frequently comes from ignorance.

A good example is if you have to give a speech in public. The more you know about your subject, the less there is to fear. Also knowledge of how already successful speakers work would increase your confidence.

The reality is 90% of what we fear never occurs. Knowing more about our situation means we may well discover there is nothing to fear at all.

James Allen: “Where there is fear, worry, anxiety, doubt, trouble, chagrin, or disappointment, there is ignorance and lack of faith.”

Educate Your Thinking

In her book ‘Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway,’ Susan Jeffers describes fear as a worry that we are unable to cope with what will happen to us. A fear of criticism is therefore simply a fear of not being able to deal with criticism.

Faith is important and we need to repeat to ourselves the motivation words ‘I CAN handle it!’

Is it possible you feel incapable of defeating fear?

The truth is every human being is amazing: this includes you. Are you still not sure? Have a go at this exercise.

Raise your hand in front of your face. Watch your fingers as you move them all slowly. Look carefully at the way they work. Could you build something similar? No, of course not.

Expand your thinking to include the rest of your body. Consider how your, brain, eyes, mouth, legs and arms operate. Understand what a wonderful creation you are. It does not matter whom you are, how you might vary physically, you are an amazing being.

You have more than you need to succeed.

Develop faith and destroy your fears.

Conclusion

Understand that fear will always be with you. New fears are good news: they demonstrate you are moving on in your life.

Hesitation in confronting fears results in an increasing frustration in life. If you learn to defeat fear, however, you will feel triumph and be ready to achieve more.

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Originally printed on Ezine Articles.

Your Subconscious Mind – 4 Reasons Why You Should Boycott the News!
By Dot Cruickshank

So many people think they can’t get by without listening to, watching or reading the daily news. What they are really doing is:

Starting the day on a negative note.

Because the population at large craves bad news that is what the media churns out. It is what sells the news stories so that is what we get.The headlines always confront us with violence, murders, tragedies, disasters and so on. If there is any happy positive news it is barely mentioned or buried well within the depths of the paper.Instead of reading or listening to something empowering to start the day people fill their minds with disempowering thoughts.

Conditioning their subconscious mind to accept negative thoughts as the norm.

By exposing themselves to negative news daily their subconscious mind becomes accustomed to it. This subtly erodes their values. What used to shock has now become quite acceptable without really even noticing.

Concerning themselves with matters beyond their control.

The media brings to attention all sorts of negative matters that people get themselves involved in and let drain their energy, but really can do nothing about. Instead of wasting time and energy concerning themselves with what is happening in the rest of the world they should be focusing on what they want in their own lives.They can only change the world one person at a time,starting with themselves.

Instilling in themselves worry and fear.

The news has a scaremongering affect bringing to mind all sorts of things for people to be afraid of or worry about. Reports of disease outbreaks, financial situations etc cause people to worry about what they don’t want, so that is what they focus on and see. If they hadn’t paid attention to the matter they wouldn’t have known to worry about it. This worry and fear can be the root of stress and illness.

Getting your daily fix of the news is really doing you more harm than good.The world isn’t going to change because you did or didn’t get the news but you will change. Why not give your subconscious mind a fix of something that is going to empower you for the day rather than sap you of your energy.

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Wishing you fun, success, health, wealth and abundance.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Your-Subconscious-Mind---4-Reasons-Why-You-Should-Boycott-the-News!&id=4460195] Your Subconscious Mind – 4 Reasons Why You Should Boycott the News!

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Fears can be even more complicated than we thought…..

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Oririginally posted to Psychology Today website

By Ira Hyman
Created Jun 4 2010 – 12:51pm

I have a fear of flying. I am nonetheless writing this while crammed into an airplane seat (I’ll edit later while on the solid ground). My fear has at times been relatively severe. My heart rate can double during take-off: Aerobic exercise without any physical exertion. I can also tell you a story of how my fear began. But how can I know if my story is the true explanation of my fear?

My story? I remember a very bad flight I took as a young man. Shortly after take-off, the plane made a quick and extreme dive to the right. The stewardess fell. Everyone gasped. I assumed that we would pull out of the dive quickly – we didn’t. I thought we were going to crash and that I was going to die. I hope it’s obvious that eventually we pulled out of the dive. The rest of the flight was incredibly inconsistent, as if the plane’s engines could only be run at full strength or not at all. I was never able to calm down during that flight. Ever since that flight, I’ve had a fear of flying. Even just going to the airport can be anxiety provoking.

My story explains my fear. My fear response is at its worst during take-off. I really don’t appreciate sharp turns when climbing either. My pulse can jump from its resting rate of 60 bpm to over 120 bpm (like the academic geek I am, I wanted to see just how bad my fear was, so I counted). Once we reach cruising altitude, I calm down. I enjoy landing, although intellectually I know that landing is relatively risky. My story not only explains my fear, but also why my fear is particularly bad during take-offs.

Just because my story makes sense of my fear, does not guarantee that the narrative is true. A few years ago, Elaine Kheriaty, Ron Kleinknecht, and I investigated the accuracy of phobia onset memories. First we started with people who had extreme fears and phobias (more severe issues than my fear of flying). We asked them to describe the onset of their fears. Like many other researchers, we found that a substantial minority (around 25%) could not recall the genesis of their phobias. Like other researchers, we also found that the phobia onset memories indicated a variety of pathways of phobia acquisition, including: classical conditioning (such as my bad flight story), observational learning, and informational pathways.

Then we did something different – we tried to verify the accuracy of what the individuals told us. With their permission, we mailed questionnaires to their parents asking about their adult child’s acquisition of a ‘perfectly normal childhood fear.’ You always want to tell parents that it is fine for their child to have a fear and that it isn’t unusual. We first asked the parents to report what they knew of their child’s fear acquisition. Then we asked parents to open an envelope containing their child’s explanation and to evaluate that story.

In most cases, parents stated that their child’s memory matched their own regarding the fear onset. In about 25% of the cases, however, the parents reported a different, and generally earlier, causal event. In essence, the child recalled an event that might have happened, that was related to the fear, but that was most likely not the causal event. Something earlier was likely the cause.

People have narratives about their fears and phobias. These narratives make sense of the fears. The narratives are not necessarily the actual cause. In a wonderful book, Donald Spence wrote an important argument concerning the difference between narrative truth and historical truth. If that is my story, then it is my truth about the event – whether or not it matches the historical event that occurred.

I have complete confidence in my memory of my bad flight. It is, after all, my memory, my narrative truth. It feels real to me and seems to be the cause of my fear of flying. This doesn’t mean it is actually the true cause of my fear. I know, for example, that I’m generally uncomfortable with heights. There may be other earlier events related to my fear that I don’t recall. Those other events may be the real cause. My narrative may just be an interesting story I tell when teaching about classical conditioning.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mental-mishaps/201006/my-fear-flying-narrative-truth-versus-historical-truth

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Originally posted to The Age, Australia

ROBERT MITCHELL
June 3, 2010 – 7:01AM

The recent arrest of a man with HIV for allegedly infecting at least one woman has revealed the extent to which this virus still engenders exceptional fear in the community. It has also unmasked the eagerness of some media to fan this fear.

More than 25 years ago Australians were warned by their government about the risks of unprotected sex and the importance of using condoms: a cool-headed response in the context of much media hysteria.

Building on that initial approach, successive Australian governments, in partnership with clinicians and community groups, have worked to implement HIV education messages, counselling and support that have protected the vast majority of sexually active Australians from infection. As a result, Australia is recognised internationally for its public health response to HIV.

An aspect of this public health response includes measures to monitor and manage individuals who put others at risk of infection. Options available to public health authorities are broad and range from education and counselling in the first instance to involuntary detainment or psychological treatment for more serious cases. Notwithstanding the measures available, all Australians have a responsibility to minimise their risk of HIV by practising safe sex.

Recent reporting in Australian media has shown the ignorance of many commentators of the comprehensive detail of these systems and procedures, which in the majority of cases are effective at reducing risks to the community. While tabloid media often focus on the salacious aspects of individual behaviour and the mode of transmission, there is also a tendency to represent cases of HIV transmission as a failure of public health systems or policy.

Sydney’s Daily Telegraph (May 26) reported that an “HIV-positive circus acrobat who appeared on Australia’s Got Talent has triggered a national health scare after allegations he had unprotected sex with at least 11 women, including some from NSW”. Beside the text on the website is a clip of the shirtless man on Australia’s Got Talent under the headline “HIV carrier flirts with Dannii”.

The Sunday Courier Mail in Brisbane (May 30) went to press with “What a circus: HIV acrobat ran rings around health authorities”. The coverage included a suggestion that an “HIV register” be used to track people with HIV. These stories echo some of the reporting that occurred in Queensland in 1984 when four babies became infected with HIV through blood transfusions that subsequently led to the appalling scapegoating of people with HIV and gay men in particular.

The population of people with HIV in Australia is diverse and numbers about 19,000 people. It includes: men, women and children; those infected through sexual contact (both gay and heterosexual); those infected in a health care setting (as patients or workers); injecting drug users; and Australians who have acquired the virus overseas, in so-called high-prevalence countries.

All of these people caught HIV from someone else and none of them deserved it. Sometimes the complexity of our human desires leads to consequences we later regret. Sometimes, simply, accidents happen.

HIV is not a morality tale; it is a blood-borne virus. It is serious but also preventable when we all take responsibility for protecting ourselves.

People living with HIV in Australia have been major architects of the programs and policies of HIV prevention and education. Public health authorities and the community are in a partnership that should be valued because of its impressive results over more than a quarter of a century, not undermined when one person’s alleged aberrant behaviour becomes tabloid fodder.

Robert Mitchell is president of the National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS (NAPWA).

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/fanning-hiv-fear-fosters-discrimination-20100602-wyu8.html

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