When you think of self motivation, you think of the old "boot-strap" strategy. You fill yourself with as many positive thoughts as you can and tug ... pulling yourself out of failures! If you make a habit of this, it can work.

Unfortunately, fear often rears it's "ugly" head and stops you in your tracks. Yet, the truth is, fear can play a positive role and I'll show you how.

The Original Role of Fear and Why it's Outdated

Most of the respected success and achievement leaders, past and present, warn us of the terrible effects of harboring fear in our lives. They tell us to overcome the fear of failure, success, embarrassment, and the new or the unknown.

They will point to the "original" need for the emotion of fear as a self-preservation mechanism designed to save ourselves from that big bad wooly mammoth or saber toothed tiger. From these beginnings we've patterned ourselves to be fearful by nature. This fear then spills into many other non-threatening situations ... like public speaking, asking for the sale, or introducing ourselves to important strangers.

Motivation Comes From Many Sources

The fact remains that fear, in some form or other, is something that most of us just have to deal with. Why not make it a positive? Who says that fear has to be bad in all situations? Frankly, fear still keeps us safe from dangers.

We are "fearful" of driving on the wrong side of the road. We fear walking too close to the edge of a cliff. We're afraid of poisonous chemicals. These fears actually motivate us to make good decisions concerning our safety! Why can't other, perhaps less practical fears, motivate us to make better decisions concerning life's successes and achievements?

I like to take whatever emotion I'm feeling and honor it. This puts me in a position of being able to use it for a positive result. Fear can fall into this category.

For True Achievement, Fear Doesn't Work Forever

What I believe the philosophers and teachers are trying to tell us with their warnings about fear is that it's not a sustaining motivator. I agree with this. Fear can become a habit and as such can become a negative pattern that keeps us from many of life's adventures and surprises.

When life is devoid of surprises, it becomes stale. When there's no adventure, there is little real learning. We're not participating in life. Uncontrolled fear shackles us.

A Great Initial Jolt & Steering Mechanism

Instead, I like to use fear as a steering mechanism. Fear can get us to recognize what we *don't* want and cause is to look at what we *do* want. And it can also grab our attention fast!

Change doesn't happen without focus. Fear can help us realize we don't want to be incarcerated, poor, left out of the group, or lose a job. This fear can motivate us instantly to seek a better alternative! If the fear is intense, and if we let it propel us to a laser focus on a desired goal, it can be of great value.

Creating a Better Mindset as Fears Fade Away

Fear can actually motivate and steer us to a better mindset. If we can make a habit of using fears as motivators, they can help us lock onto our goals. And we'll not only automatically focus on the right things, our fears will lose their powers. We'll then build a positive mindset, free of fears.

So, don't fight your fears! Use them so creatively that they finally decide to simply move on to more fertile ground elsewhere.

You can do it!

Mel Inglima, http://MelInglima.com, owner of Dream Home Creation, has spent his life helping people build and remodel their homes, invest and manage their money, and make decisions that have a profound effect on their lives and futures. His work gives him unique insights into what it takes to succeed in life.