If I walked up to 10 strangers and asked them "Are you happy with your current career? Are you excited to get up and go to work everyday? Are you passionate about what you do?" 8 out of 10 would say "No" to all these questions.

Many people dream of an occupation that will provide them with more freedom to spend time with their families, to travel, to relax, etc. However, 80% of all Americans are unhappy with their careers. Why is that? Why do so many people settle for a j.o.b. (just over broke) that they don't even like? 1 of the biggest reasons is FEAR.

Fear of what our family thinks
Fear of going "outside of box" and doing something different
Fear of not making enough money with our dream careers
Fear of failure

So, what is fear anyway? In Jack Canfield's best selling book, The Success Principles, he said psychologists describe fear as:

F - Fantasized
E - Experiences
A - Appearing
R - Real

We all experience fear. We fantasize about negative events that may never actually happen. For example, you may want to change careers, but you're afraid of failing or afraid of what your family will say. So, you start to think - my family will laugh at me - I won't make it - I can't do it - I won't make enough money.

Many of our fears never even happen, and we spend a lot of time worrying for no reason at all. Your time is very valuable. Don't waste any of it regretting the past or fearing the future. Stay focused on making your dreams come true today.

Overcoming fears may seem challenging to you, and you may be thinking, "How do I really overcome my fear?" That's a great question. It's easier than you may think.

Replace your negative fantasies/feelings with positive ones
Remember times when you overcame fear
Build up your self-confidence

If you want to change careers and you're experiencing fear, simply visualize that you're already in the new career. Visualize that you've achieved your goals. Imagine what you would feel like. Focus on those positive fantasies and sensations like joy, happiness, courage, self-confidence, etc.

In the past, everyone has overcome different fears. When you were younger, you were probably afraid to ride a bike, dive off the diving board, etc, but you eventually did it. You may have been afraid to ask someone out on a date, meet someone's parents, or kiss someone for the first time. Again, you conquered your fears and did it anyway.

For those of you who are happily married, what would have happened if you would've never asked your spouse out on a date - well you wouldn't be married today.

Never tell yourself "I Can't." Take those words out of your vocabulary today. If you tell yourself you can't do something, then you won't achieve it. Always tell yourself "I can do it."

Create a list of affirmations to recite everyday like:

I am exuding self-confidence.
I am worthy.
I am courageous.
I believe in myself.
I can achieve anything that I truly believe.
No matter how hard it gets, I am going to make it.
I can do it.

Children have more self-confidence than many adults. If a child wants a piece of candy, they keep asking for it. They're relentless. They have a "never give up" attitude. All of us have natural born talents. As children, we naturally do the things that we love. If we love dancing, we dance all the time. If we love swimming, we want to swim all the time. If we love football, we want to play as much as possible. Children do things that they're passionate about. But somewhere along the way, we lose that passion.

As we begin to grow up, we go through life's struggles (losing a job, getting divorced, going through bankruptcy, losing a home, etc). As adults, we begin to focus on all the negative events in our lives, and we forget the positive events. That causes a loss of confidence.

We lose the passion that was once in our lives. So, how do you get that back? One way is to write down all of your accomplishments. Give yourself some credit for all of the successes you've had in your life (like making the football team, graduating from high school or college, having children, raising your children, purchasing a home, putting a smile on someone else's face, helping out a friend in need, etc). Everyone has more successes in their lives than failures, but our brains naturally focus on the failures.

So, build your self-confidence right now by acknowledging all of your successes in life (no matter how big or how small).

Joy is an inspirational blogger who teaches, empowers, and motivates people to discover their passions, fulfill their dreams, and achieve their life's purpose. Get inspirational quotes, articles, books, etc at her website - http://www.LifePassion.net