Overcoming My FEAR

"Where were you my friend ? It's been a long we met", said my friend to me. Yes, I was not in his contact for over one year. After my father's Demise, I was traumatized. Of course, I was mentally broken and depressed. "Sorry my friend for not contacting you over a year", I said to him. He came at my home to meet me. " Is everything alright ?", he questioned me. "Yes, my friend, everything is good", I said. "You are the man of your words brother, you proved yourself that overcoming fear is possible" he said with a smile on his face. my younger brother was also present there at that time. He asked, " Overcoming fear ? Man of your words ? Can someone tell me what's this conversation is going about ?" My friend said, " Let your elder brother himself tell you the whole story, but before that can we please be seated and then move ahead?". "Yes Sure! Come inside " younger brother said. After we settled down, I begin to tell him the whole Story behind OVERCOMING MY FEAR.

The story is about one and a half year ago when my friend and I were playing cricket. I was a professional cricketer and he was not. But for his convenience we were playing with tennis ball so that he doesn't get hurt. I mocked him by saying," You are a coward, it's just a tennis ball still you can't play with it bravely, look at me, I play with leather ball which, still I am not frightened of it." The thing which I said him was wrong because I shouldn't have mocked him for this. But the thing he said to me was the thing which made me think. He said," I am a Coward! Look who is saying that, the one who couldn't overcome his fear of Swimming from childhood." He mocked me by saying this and I got troubled by it. I got troubled because for me, nothing was impossible except swimming. This was the fear which I had from my childhood. I used to get Frightened by just getting the sight of the water bodies like Wells, Lakes, Rivers, Beaches, Etc. That was the time when I remembered a small story. The story was of Mahatma Gandhi. He was a very renowned person of that time when a lady with her daughter came to him and asked him to tell her daughter not to overeat sugar as it is not good for her health. Mahatma Gandhi told the lady to come after a week. The lady came after a week and then Mahatma Gandhi Guided the lady's Daughter about sugar's Disadvantages. The lady asked Gandhiji that he could have told her daughter previously when she came a week before. Then Gandhiji said that he didn't told her the previous week because he himself was eating sugar, after he told her to come next week, he didn't eat sugar for that week and set an example of not eating sugar. The moral of the story is, we must always lead by example.  After that I decided not to suggest anyone to overcome his/her fear until and unless I myself overcome my fear of swimming.

But it was not a cakewalk for me. I used to try a lot to at least get in the water body but got failed there too. In the month of May 2024, My younger brother had summer holidays, my mother suggested to get him to swimming academy for coaching. I made his admission there and he happily got himself enrolled. First I used to watch him from far away that whether he is able to get comfortable with the swimming coach or is he frightened of water. But he got in the pool fearlessly and started his class. Then my mother insisted me to join the academy for myself. First of all I got shy because there were all small kids of my brothers age who were learning to swim, and I thought that I was only one of aged 20 who wasn't able to swim. I went to the coach for some enquiry regarding the coaching and asked all my doubts and also expressed about my shyness. The coach encouraged me to join the academy and also ensured that I will learn to swim at any cost. Then I enrolled myself in the academy but with so much of fear and shyness. I still Remember my first day of coaching where I was frightened of even entering 4 foot shallow pool. But the coaches there guided me and after some 15 days I learned to swim and that day I was very happy to OVERCOME MY FEAR. 

Author's Personal Opinion :- Before I was Unable to swim, I had a very strong opinion that nothing is Impossible. That's the reason I decided to learn to swim first and then write a blog on it. Several times it came in mind to write a blog on OVERCOMING FEAR but it was my decision to first overcome my fear and then say it proudly that overcoming our fear is possible. As a wise man once said, "Nothing is Impossible, the word itself says I'm Possible". A huge Thank You to all the viewers who read it. Namaste 🙏🏻.