Important Steps to Overcoming Fear

Fear is always with us.

I know people who are amazing at what they do, have done something a million times, and yet STIll become fearful and anxious each and every time beforehand. Fear is our conscious mind’s way of trying to keep us safe – as it always does.

But, we can choose to overcome our Fear, over and over again. We can choose to sit with the feelings and emotions that come up, and fight through them. Because we know that on the other side, is all of the things we have dreamed of.

If we chose to listen to our worries each time, and the possibilities of what could go wrong, we would only hinder our growth – which many of us do, myself included. I’ve allowed my anxiety to keep me at home, to cancel opportunities, even to deny jobs that would have helped my business – all because I didn’t feel worthy and I allowed that feeling to drive my Fear.

This past month though, I’ve faced Fear multiple times, and I have begun to take back my Power. We always have the choice.

This is how I feel the fear, and continue on anyways.

• Remember that the feelings you may be experiencing, may also be excitement.

  Anxiety, nervousness, and excitement all feel pretty darn similar. If we can transition from thinking of these feelings in a negative way, and instead in a positive “I am just excited for something new” way, we can diminish some of the symptoms.

• Notice the symptoms in your body (tight chest, crinkled eyebrows, increased heart rate).

  This way, when these come up again, you will easily be able to identify the feeling and remember the times you have fought through – telling yourself once again it is possible and even beneficial to continue pushing.

• Ask yourself what the theme of the Fear is.

  Mine is so often caring what others think of me. By doing this each time, you are better able to understand your triggers and what needs to be worked on more regularly to hopefully stop this Fear from coming up.

• Acknowledge that what you are feeling is Fear.

  You can state to yourself “I am fearful” or “I am fearful, nervous, and excited all at the same time”. This creates some distance between you and your emotions and allows you to become the observer. In this way, you are less involved in the drama of your mind. You allow the thoughts to continue, but you do not allow yourself to become pulled in.

• Remind yourself of all the previous times that you defeated Fear.

  You have done it before, you can do it again. And that last time you felt like this and pushed past, what happened? I can almost always guarantee that you felt amazing afterwards, and that thing you were so afraid to do benefited your life in some way – whether or not you realized it at the time.

• Think about the aftermath, once this thing you are so fearful of is over and done with.

  This has been the most helpful in my personal journey with Fear. I will literally tell myself “You will go do *whatever the scary thing is*, and then it will be over”. Then, I will think about my plans for the next day and what I will be doing afterwards. This helps me mentally move forward and remember that Fear is just a feeling of unsafety. When we are able to remind ourselves that we ARE SAFE, it lessens the trigger.

Pushing through Fear for me, feels as if I am physically pushing my chest up against a wall. I can feel the block, the pressure in my chest, and then the almost physical pain of breaking through.

You may not be able to feel this yet, but with more practice, you can become attuned to feeling the emotions present in your body and then pushing past them. The more you do this, the better at it you will become – and the more change you will begin to witness in your life and satisfaction.