Fear… this word is well known around the world. It is a powerful word that is defined in many ways by each individual person. If I were to ask you what you feared that answer would be unique to you. Yet, it can have the same effect on each of us. IT CAN STOP US IN OUR TRACKS!

Fear is meant to have a positive purpose in our lives. That purpose is to guide us away from ACTUAL THREATS. But humanity has developed illusional fears that can hinder our self-growth and work against us.

Let’s go through the two different types of fear. The first type is good, logical fear. The other type is negative, illusional fear. Logical fear keeps us from doing things like running off a cliff, sticking our arms in the mouth of hungry shark, or licking an electric fence (hopefully lol). This is good and healthy. Please DO let your logical fear help guide you! The logical fear keeps us safe from REAL THREATS.

There is also a negative fear which is based off illusion. This type of fear is one WE DO NOT want to guide us. Illusional fears would be things like:
-I am not good enough
-I am not talented enough
-I am not capable enough
-I am worthless
-I am unfixable
-I am too messed up
-I am not strong enough
-I am never going to do it… so, WHY TRY?
 
You also have the WHAT IF fears like:
-What if I fail
-What if I cannot do it
-What if I mess up
-What if I look silly
-What if I am wrong
-What if… what if… what if….

These fears can feel VERY REAL, but they are simply illusions that stem from our broken self-esteems. We take on these thoughts and claim them as our own and we believe them overtime. They FEEL like reality, but they ARE NOT!! They are lies that try to trap us and hold us captive from becoming our best self.
 
These are illusions!! Do you SEE the actual fear FOR SURE RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU? Is it an ACTUAL THREAT? Or it is just a possibility and something that is just simply scary to your self-esteem? If there is a volcano erupting unexpectedly in front of you and you must run so you do not get harmed… that is a logical and good fear to have. But if you fear failure… that is an illusional fear. The way I see it… there is NO SUCH THING AS FAILURE!! There are only experiences we learn from to steer us in a more effective direction! Those that do not make it did not fail… they just GAVE UP BEFORE THEY FOUND THEIR SUCCESS!
 
NO ONE that stands at the peak success has climbed to that height without facing TEMPORARY FAILURES!! Everyone must learn and grow and become someone that is capable of embodying success. It takes trial and error. It takes consistency and FIGHTING YOUR FEARS until you BECOME A CHAMPION OVER YOUR FEARS!!!
 
You can become a champion!! Here are some steps you can take to START CONQUERING YOUR FEARS:

1. Next time you have a fear arise, ask yourself… “is this an illusional fear or a logical fear?”.
2. If it falls into the category of an illusional fear, then you need to ask yourself “is the risk worth the reward?”.
3. If it is an illusional fear, then you need to force yourself to do it even if you are scared. Then if your fear comes true you can tell yourself it is not as big of a deal as you thought it would be. Then try again until you achieve your goal. You can also remind yourself as you struggle, your struggle does not define your capability. Your struggle is making you more capable because you are on a learning journey.

 
I challenge you to FIGHT TO BECOME YOUR BEST YOU!! FIGHT YOUR ILLUSIONAL FEARS AND BECOME AN OVERCOMER!!
 
Be blessed ALWAYS!
-Lauren Nichole Roberts 

Challenges… this is a word EVERYONE understands in this life! Everyone must face them throughout their lifetime. THERE IS NO WAY WE CAN COMPLETELY AVOID CHALLENGES IN THIS LIFE! THEY ARE A PART OF LIFE! If I were to take a survey and ask individuals if they feel negative or positive toward this word, most will say NEGATIVE. But what if we could start a revolution amongst EVERYONE? What if we could change our perspective to start seeing challenges as a positive opportunity? What would happen?

Like anyone else, my life has not been short of challenges. Throughout most of my life, I not only hated challenges, but I also feared them. Sometimes I would do everything I could to avoid a challenge, even if that meant not trying something or going somewhere I wanted to go. However, over the past 10+ years as a network marketer, I was forced out of this mindset. I had no choice but to face challenge after challenge, and I could not walk away from them. I had no choice but to face them head-on because there was no way I was going to leave my marketing family to face them alone.

At first, I hated each challenge that arose. I looked at them as inconveniences. But over time I learned to appreciate them because I saw myself transform through them. I saw myself become stronger, smarter, better through each challenge that I overcame.

So, I ask you… do you want to be like most of the world that fear a challenge or hardship and allow those moments to hold them back, or do you want to be a champion who learns to embrace each challenge? Do you want to use the UNAVOIDABLE challenges that arise to propel you to your best self or let them tear you down? Challenges are going to arise… I choose to embrace them, and I encourage you to do the same!

Next time you see a challenge coming your way, face it head-on and tell yourself from the moment that challenge hits you that you are going to use this challenge to make you better. Then keep yourself focused on that mindset. Tell yourself, "I have to face it, so I am going to use it to empower me!! I will NOT let this challenge hinder me!! Instead, I will make this challenge EMPOWER ME!!" You can learn from each challenge that arises so that you will become more equipped for the next challenge! You can look at each challenge as a learning opportunity. Look at your life as an obstacle course that ends with you becoming the CHAMPION OF YOUR LIFE!!

We can’t control our lives! As a matter of fact, most of our lives are completely out of our control, but that does NOT make us helpless. We can’t control the results of our circumstances, but we can control how we deal with them. We can control how we feel about them and how we think through these moments. We can control our character development!

BECOME EMPOWERED, BECOME BETTER, BECOME STRONGER THROUGH EACH CHALLENGE TO BECOME A BETTER YOU!!! YOU CAN DO THIS!! LET’S START THIS REVOLUTION TOGETHER!!!

Be blessed ALWAYS!
-Lauren Nichole Roberts

As I sit here I am running a list of people I know through my mind. I have a list of people that are more optimistic, sweet and joyful and a list of people that tend to be the OPPOSITE. I think we all know both categories of people. Take some time and think about your circle of interaction. Are you surrounded by positive conversation and circumstances or negativity?

My life used to be filled with a lot of negativity. I got used to it and it became normal and I adjusted but I was emotionally down a lot. The interesting thing is I did not realize it until I got away from that environment.  

I think this happens a lot in this world. Take some time and think about your work environment, think about the conversations you and your friends center around the majority of the time. Are the mostly negative or mostly positive?

I got away from the negative parts of my life I did not have to be around anymore. I suggest others do this in areas they can as well. But we can't get away from every circumstance that is negative. So in these moments I focus on myself and how I think. 

I learned the hard way when we allow ourselves to sit in negativity for long periods of time our chemicals can actually adjust and you can start becoming a negative person chemically when you really aren't that way. This can become a circle no one wants to be trapped in. Stress chemicals like cortisol are released in these times that actually can weaken our immune systems and puts our chemicals in a mode of chaos. This is very harmful on our health overtime. Mastering how we think is not only important to our mental well-being but also our physical well-being. 

I really feel like if we can master our minds and how we think in every circumstance, we can have joy and peace no matter what we have to face. Here are some simple things I have done to help me become a more positive person in every circumstance. 

1. When I face hardship I decide to discover what I can learn from the situation or how I can better myself. Instead of suffering just because, I suffer for a cause. This mindset helps me to not have to endure a painful or hard situation without meaning and it does make me feel better during the hardship. To make sure this really makes a difference you have to keep reminding yourself of this as you endure the situation and even after you get through it. 

2. Instead of letting myself dwell on the negative in the situation I force myself to think about 5 things I am thankful for or focus on something positive or uplifting. This helps me take my mind from the negative and it allows me to feel positive. I also go through and look at photos I enjoy even if it is 30 seconds. Another thing I do is sing a song or listen to uplifting music. I NEVER let myself dwell on the negative. 

3. When I wake up in the morning I decide to do my best in every circumstance. I make sure I am focused. Then I really do make sure I do my best that day in everything I do. If I end up doing something I could have done better in, I don't let myself get down on myself. I choose to forgive myself and move on. I don't let myself feel guilty. I just let myself learn and become better. 

4. I realize I am responsible for myself. If someone else is grumpy and rude to me I can choose to let that effect my day or not! I choose not to give anyone else the power to direct my mood or how I feel. I have not always been this way. I used to get upset when someone was rude to me or mistreated me out of the blue. Now I realize they are obviously hurting and I choose to not let it effect me. This has been a great principle to apply! How many times have you woke up in a good mood and someone else snaps at you and it ruins your day? I had to tell myself I am the only one that is responsible for me and my actions. I can't blame others or pass the responsibility of my behavior to anyone else. 

5. I stopped expecting to have a good day and started realizing things might come up but I am not going to let anything keep me down that day. I feel like on the days I woke up and hope everything went perfectly were the days I always got the most disappointed. One day I realized I was setting myself up for disappointment when I did this and stopped thinking this way. Since then, I don't expect everything to go perfect. I expect things to go wrong, and things to happen, and make sure I am ready for anything. This way if something does happen I am not completely caught off guard and disappointed and can focus on how I respond and handle that moment. There are also days I have that go great and I can really enjoy the blessing instead of feeling entitled on those days. I realized I can appreciate the good and bad days a lot more!

​Reprogramming our minds is possible. It takes time and dedication and persistence. Our minds are like computers. It takes in a lot of information. Some of this information is good and necessary and some things are harmful. We can correct the wrong information and glitches. We don't have to choose to stay hurt or in a suffering mindset. 

I have put these five tips into practice and I have become someone I never imagined I would have been. These things really work! Of course, there are so many things we can do to help steer clear of the negativity. I would love to hear what you do!

I look forward to hearing more tips and tricks! What do you do to help pull yourself out of a bad or negative mood? Please leave your tips in the comments below! Be blessed!