The Benefits Of Overcoming Personal Fears Essay Examples

I. Overcoming your personal fears is the only way to achieve your full potential (thesis statement).
II. A. Many barriers turn out to be primarily mental
i. Theodore Roosevelt overcame the fear of asthma to lead a vigorous life
ii. Long-distance runners often find that their limits are in their heads

B. Fears keep you from trying things that could turn out to be your greatest skills

i. Many great writers leave their work in a desk drawer, such as Emily Dickinson
ii. Fear of the water could keep a great swimmer from finding his potential
C. Fears are often the result of bullying from other people
i. Worrying about the comments of others often keeps people from pursuing the arts
ii. The creativity that leads to groundbreaking inventions can be squashed by fear
III. Conclusion (see paragraph below)

Introduction paragraph:

When Thomas Edison was a young boy, he tried to hitch a ride on a train, but a conductor found him and threw him off – by his ear. The damage caused the young Edison to lose much of his hearing. For many people, this experience would have been terrifying and might have caused them to lose confidence. However, Edison developed a reputation for being one of history’s greatest inventors, showing a great deal of persistence in developing the light bulb that could burn for over 1200 hours and the phonograph which helped in recording sound, among others. He persisted after developing a handicap, rather than giving into his fears. Overcoming your personal fears is the only way to achieve your full potential as barriers that are primarily mental and often stem from the bullying of others keep you from trying new things.

Body Paragraph #1:

Many of the barriers that we face in life turn out to be primarily mental in nature. When Theodore Roosevelt was a young boy, his parents homeschooled him because of asthma and other illnesses. However, thanks to encouragement from his father, he overcame those fears and put together a regimen of physical exercise that included lifting weights and boxing (Theodore Roosevelt, 2015). A similar process is necessary for distance runners. The act of “[s]uccumbing to the awe of faster pacesis often what leads totime barriers that runners can never get quite past” (Gaudette, 2013, web). Adjusting their mental concept of what they can do pushes runners past barriers that their physical conditioning has already prepared them to transcend.

Body Paragraph #2:

Many of the fears that people face keep them from trying new ventures. Emily Dickinson spent most of her life serving as a caretaker for her mother, but all the while she was filling notebooks with her poetry. During her life, she published very little of her work, and what she did publish, she changed to suit the time’s standards. This kept her unique syntax and poetic form from appearing during her lifetime. It was not until her death that her sister discovered hundreds of other poems (Emily Dickinson, 2015). If she had had the courage to publish more and keep her own voice, she would have changed the world of poetry earlier and received more validation. Consider the potential case of a young child afraid of the water. If he never overcomes that fear, even if he has the physique that would turn him into an Olympic-style swimmer, he never gets to tap that potential.

Body Paragraph #3:

One factor that keeps people from reaching their full potential is bullying from others. Many budding artists keep their work under wraps after the first few people who see it make fun of it and taunt the artists for trying. People whose work does not fit conventional mores often find this to be the case. The same notion goes for groundbreaking inventions. If Galileo had put up with the interference of the Church, the telescope might remain a dream rather than a common tool for astronomers.

Conclusion paragraph:

As long as your personal fears continue to guide you, you will never achieve everything you were meant to. When Michael Jordan was a ninth grader, he went out for his school’s basketball team, but the coach cut him. When he went back out again the next year, the same thing happened. If he had let those two setbacks develop a fear for trying out, both the University of North Carolina and the Chicago Bears would have been deprived of one of the greatest players of all time.

Works Cited

Emily Dickinson. (2015). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 09:28, Apr 16, 2015,
Gaudette, J. (2013). Change your mindset to improve race times. Competitor 3 December 2013.
Retrieved 9:27, Apr 16, 2015, from http://running.competitor.com/2013/12/training/change-your-mindset-to-improve-race- times_50534
Theodore Roosevelt. (2015). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 09:08, Apr 16, 2015,
Mose, not bad! I am so proud of you. Just read the comments and make corrections! Don’t forget your title page (even for outlines). Continue to work on thesis statement. Score: 13.5/15