In his book “Think and Grow Rich”, Napoleon Hill talks of the 6 Ghosts of Fear and how we can outwit them. But before we race off scaring ghosts, lets look at it in a bit more detail.
The first step in this process is preparing your mind. It is not difficult, and it begins with study and analysis. You need to understand the three enemies that need to be cleared out: indecision, doubt, and fear. These enemies are closely related. Usually where one is lurking, the others are not far behind. Indecision crystallises into doubt. When these two blend, they become fear. This is one reason why these three enemies are so dangerous. They germinate and grow without you even knowing.
Hill analyses a condition which has reduced huge numbers of people to poverty. He talks of a truth that must be understood by all who accumulate riches, whether it is measured in terms of money, or a state of mind that is of far greater value than money.
Hill turns the spotlight of attention upon the cause and the cure of the six basic fears:
- poverty
- criticism
- ill health
- loss of love of someone
- old age
- death
We all suffer from some combination of these fears at some time. In fact, most of us are fortunate if we do not suffer from all six. Before you can take one of these enemies and master it, you must recognise it, know its name, its habits, and its place of abode. You need to analyze yourself carefully, and determine which, if any, of the six common fears have attached themselves to you. Often these fears are hidden in the subconscious mind where they are difficult to locate, and even more difficult to eliminate.
Fear is a state of mind. The good news for us is that we can control our state of mind. As Hill reminds us, man can create nothing which he does not first conceive in the form of an impulse of thought. Our thoughts become our reality, whether we know it or not. The thoughts could have been pre-programmed into our subconscious by others, and we may not even be aware of them. Because we can essentially control our own destiny through our thoughts, actions and non-actions, this explains why some people appear lucky, even though sometimes people with greater ability, training and experience seem to be destined with misfortune.
If you are aware that you can control your mind, which in turn will determine your outcome, you are close to being able to mastering your fear. If you take this concept one step further, you will also realise that thought impulses of fear and poverty cannot be translated into terms of courage and financial gain.