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For the school learners
Fear is an obstacle that many students face at school. It is usually caused by low self-esteem, a negative or discouraging background, and at times the environment. I grew up at a place called Thombankala, where you only saw donkeys and cows.
Nothing was there to inspire any person to greater heights. During those days when a car passed past our homestead, everyone else came out of the house and waved, ‘bye, bye’ even not knowing the people who were in the car. Those were the days.
Added to that it’s the name you were given, or your surname which other people will have challenges pronouncing. Your parents might be dead, possibly you don’t know your mother or father, your parents are divorced, your parents are always fighting at home or you were abused by a close relative.
All these might have a bearing on fear. However, you can become a great person despite all these dark experiences. It’s only in the mind, that you can use all these as tomorrow’s testimonies. Here are some tips to assist you:
Face the fear
Face the fear, if you do nothing about it, nothing will change. So face them head-on. You always fear because parents are dead, or sick, or divorced, face reality and focus on the future. Ignore what’s behind and focus on what’s ahead. When the driver is driving, he focuses on what is ahead, he keeps focusing on the big windscreen not the small mirrors beside the car. Your future is big, you can’t change what happened, there’s nothing that you can do.
Time is the best healer. That boyfriend slept with you and now he is going out with your friend. It’s painful, but you learned a hard lesson, be strong and focus on the future. It’s hard but endure the pain and move on. A bright future is waiting for you, someone better is waiting for you.
Be Positive
Always be positive. Have a fighting spirit. Tell yourself, that,’ l can do it’, l will overcome’. There’s greatness in you. Birds don’t go for flight lessons, fish don’t go for a swimming lesson, and flight and swimming is inherent in these creatures. What about you? There’s so much greatness in you.
Don’t doubt yourself. Be like a lion or an eagle. When a lion sees an elephant, a giraffe or a hippo, it sees lunch. These are big games, but the lion is not worried about that. Inside the lion, there’s this mindset that say,’ I can kill an elephant’. Have that mindset also, those obstacles, that disappointment it’s lunch. You can overcome them. You might have a disability, some students laugh at your structure, complexion, high, etc. that doesn’t define the greatness in you or what you will be in future. You can become a celebrity despite all these.
Talk about it.
Sharing fears takes away a lot of pressure. You can talk to your siblings, parents , teachers, or your Pastor. You will be assisted. Don’t turn to alcohol or drugs. This will make matters worse. In every problem there’s a solution.
Don’t try to be perfect
Do your best. For you to be your best you start from somewhere. If your English is broken , start from somewhere. lf your family is broken, start from somewhere. If any subject is giving you problems, start from somewhere. Don’t worry about the mistakes that you will make along the way. Everything goes through a process. For a child to walk, that child started from somewhere. You will start by crawling up until you walk and eventually run. You will end up speaking good English and people will forget that you come from Thombankala. Today I’m a Doctor, author of several history textbooks done in schools and the president of History Teacher’s of Zimbabwe. I conquered my fears. You can also become a great personality tomorrow.
Participate in sports
Most students especially the A levels don’t want to participate in sports. Sport is good for your health and it’s a remedy for treating fears. Exercise causes your brain to release endorphins a chemical in your brain that relieves pain.
Playing sports makes you happier and less stressed. Sports calm your mind and improve your mood, and overall well being. Above all fear God , not problems. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.
Feedback: Dr Manners Msongelwa/+263 771 019 392/Teacher/Youth Coach/ Author
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