A lot of people have lived with fear for so long they don't even realize they're living with it. And nothing compromises you more than the fear you've grown accustomed to.
Fear comes in many shapes and forms … anxiety, worry, frustration, anger, regret, resentment, the list goes on. Bottom line though, Fear is a ‘Possibility Stealer’. No-one is exempt from it, although some have got better at dealing with it.
For some of us fear entwines itself into our thoughts every time we decide to make a change. In that moment of decision, a trail of thoughts and feelings is ignited and weaves its way into minds … our baggage from the past … so that you can end up feeling that ‘Well … maybe this isn’t the best time …’ or other action hindering conclusions.
But what's at the bottom of it?
And what can you do moment by moment to release it?
Because let’s face it some people have developed efficient means of overcoming fear and because some people have that means you can too.
Attention and Awareness are the keys. Fear takes over your mind when you take your attention and awareness off how you’re feeling and lose yourself in your thoughts. One thought leads to another, then another and before you know it … there’s a ‘reason’ to stop.
One way of dealing with fearful / negative feelings, which most of us have got quite proficient with, is to use it as a clue to stop what we’re doing and stay with what we know.
In some instances this is a true and sensible thing to do … in the case of putting your hand on a hotplate or stepping out into oncoming traffic. In other instances, this truly holds you back from realizing the awesome reality you were truly meant to be living.
So how can you stop that? How can you use fear as a … well as a catalyst to spur you onto bigger and better things?
Awareness and Attention to how we’re feeling are the keys. Fear creeps in, often not as a full on overpowering wave but as ‘clear, rational thinking’ presenting the downside often as those nebulous thoughts that leave you feeling deflated and/or out of sorts.
The thing is any time you entertain these nebulous, ‘rational’ thoughts, you’re asking for more of the same. So the trick is to maintain your Attention and Awareness on your thoughts and your feelings and use these as a ‘switch’ to refocus yourself on what you really want.
It’s a very simple process and as easy or straightforward as you’d care to make it. And what’s more, it can be done at any stage in the process even before it happens. That’s right Awareness and Attention can be used to ‘Prevent’ as well as to ‘Alter’ fearful thinking.
The keys to using fear as a catalyst are Attention and Awareness to what you’re thinking and how you’re feeling. The very moment you notice yourself feeling ‘stressed’ or out of sorts, is the very moment you need to reclaim your Attention and Awareness rather than consenting to go along with it.
And you can do this easily by maintaining your Awareness and Attention and changing the questions you ask yourself. Start your mind searching for the ‘reasons’ why you can be do and have all the awesome , beautiful, wonderful things you truly deserve in this life.
Leanne Watson is the creator of the Peak Performance audio Feeling Great for no particular reason, get more done in less time and feel better about yourself and your world at the end of it. Subscribe to her powerful newsletter The Secrets of Your Successful Mind which is full of tips, tricks and techniques for accelerating learning and change and receive free access to the Feeling Great the movie preview #2.
Copyright 2007 - Leanne Watson. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way and give the author name credit.