When you buy into any version of fear, it can become your experience because your molecules are intelligent, and your energy responds to the predominant feeling in your body. If you knew how powerful your thoughts were, you would never indulge in a fearful thought. The focus of your mind is exactly what gives the orders to create your next experience.
Fear almost serves no purpose in our society, beyond social control for human behaviour. Of course the fear impulse still serves SOME purpose; you’re not going to stand in the middle of a busy street and fearlessly allow a car to run you over. What we are referring to is allowing fear to override and hijack your thoughts, feelings, and behaviour. The fears of the modern person are, for the most part, highly irrational. There’s a big difference between the emotional alarms alerting you to stay off a busy street, and the ones that cause you to constantly second-guess your higher aspirations and passions.
You Are Not a Turtle
Turtles hide in their shells whenever they feel threatened. This is a fantastic evolutionary tool for the turtle, but you are not a turtle, you are a human being. For the most part, preditors are not trying to eat you. When you feel overwhelmed, do you “withdraw back into your shell” to conserve energy for another day? On the surface this might seem like a good strategy, but here’s the thing: It’s incredibly irrational and self-defeating because what you are really doing is conditioning yourself to accept that it’s ok to “hide” when things get scary. The majority of our fear responses are not relevant to modern circumstances. The more you allow yourself to hide from the things that genuinely challenge you and invoke fear, the harder it’s going to be to break free. Rather than choosing growth, you choose to retreat.
You may temporarily avoid an uncomfortable situation, but plenty more uncomfortable situations are going to show up, and, at some stage, you’re going to have to deal with them. Do you intend on just ducking in and out for your entire life? Wouldn’t you rather spend your time fully engaged in something that genuinely excites you, versus wanting to run away and hide?
Try This: Next time you notice the pangs of fear rising within you, familiarise yourself with your impulse to “retreat”. The first step to overcoming any self-limiting behaviour is to become aware of it so you can isolate and minimise it. When it comes around again, you’ll have more leverage because you have more understanding of the situation. Instead of letting the warning be a red flag, let it be a bright neon sign screaming GROWTH STARTS HERE!
“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”
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If it Bleeds, It Leads
News is a money-making industry predominantly owned by three corporations who don’t always make the goal to report the facts accurately. Gone are the days of tuning in to be informed straightforwardly about current events. In truth, watching the news can be a psychologically risky pursuit that can undermine your mental and physical health. Fear-based news stories prey on the anxieties we all have and then hold us hostage. Being glued to the television, reading the paper, or surfing the Internet increases ratings and market shares — and it also raises your fear-based thinking.
Mass beliefs in the power of outside authorities are firmly entrenched in our psyche; they are strong and old, and somewhat like a redwood forest they too can be felled very, very quickly, raising many questions about the truth of who we are and why we place our trust outside ourselves. How have you arrived at your thinking? Where do your ideas and knowledge come from, and why do you credit some knowledge and discredit others?
It’s pretty evident, during this global pandemic, that there is no consensus in science. There is vast disagreement among trained people, doctors, and scientists who study these things. They do not come to a consensus. And rightly so. It is difficult in a reality where everyone is co-creating their own experience to find consensus.
“The moment we begin to fear the opinions of others and hesitate to tell the truth that is in us, and from motives of policy are silent when we should speak, the divine floods of light and life no longer flow into our souls.”
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The Uncomfortable Truth
Fear robs you of your freedom to make the right choice in life that can bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be. On the other side of fear, lies freedom. If you want to grow, you need to be brave and take risks. If you’re not uncomfortable, you’re not growing. In times such as these, we are challenged, stirred up, and urged to rise to the occasion to call on our inner resources. When everything is peaceful and the airports are open and the planes are all on time; when no one is upset about much and most things are safe; when the system is functioning well, we must find a lot of self-motivation to grow and change.
When the forces are all disturbed and we are bombarded with electronic messages that the world is falling apart, climate change is taking over everywhere, and we must wear masks otherwise we are going to kill everyone else – this is fear-based programming to the extreme. What this does is it magnifies our beliefs.
If we said take a piece of paper and in 3 minutes, write down 10 beliefs that you have. Would you be scratching your head because you don’t know what you believe? You are being told what to believe today. You are being told what to see and how to interpret it. When you want to control the people, create tumult. When things are peaceful it’s a completely different game.
For those who do not question, for those who are not courageous enough to look at the bigger picture, the bombardment of confusing ideas can shatter the mental state of their equilibrium. When you are continuously told opposite points of view, “You are safe – No you are not”, “This is going to happen – No it’s not”, “You have to have a vaccination – don’t trust vaccinations”, “The economy is going to collapse – No it’s not, it’s better than ever.” When you hear these kinds of mixed messages, this is a form of mind control.
We are a product of too much information presented from self-interested viewpoints, and we not grounded or confident enough as people to know what our beliefs are. Are you acting on an underlying belief that you’re not safe? Life is full of uncertainties. Are you allowing your uncertainty to create fear that blocks your ability to take right action? Now here’s a really good belief to have: “I live in a safe world. Wherever I go, my world experience is safe. I am supported by goodness and I am always in the right place at the right time with glorious things unfolding for me, effortlessly.”
“Courage is feeling fear, not getting rid of fear, and taking action in the face of fear.”
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Mastering Your Mind
The link between mind and matter is an essential lesson to master. We must change our core beliefs in order to see change in the outside world. We change these limiting commands by replacing them with encouraging, self-empowered thoughts. Limitations come from inside the mind, and making the decision to let go of restricting beliefs is like taking off a pair of tight shoes or slipping out of a corset: you are filled with a new sense of freedom and relief!
In every moment of your existence, you have the opportunity to take the low road, the middle road, or the high road. Honesty produces a frequency that says, “I have integrity and honour, and I am dependable, trustworthy, and reliable.” It is all up to you. The more responsibility you are willing to claim for being the co-creator of your life, the greater the truths you will be able to accept and deal with. Responsibility opens the doors to complete self-empowerment.
“Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.”
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Flip the Switch and Slay the Fear Boss
If you think about your life like a video game, the only way to get to the next level is to defeat a fear boss. This is logical because fear is a barrier that “protects” you from something. If you fear lions, you will avoid them. If you fear rejection, you will avoid situations that may produce it. Fear is the emotion that makes us want to seek comfort and safety.
Fear serves the purpose of giving us the opportunity to level up. We overcome fear by becoming progressively more conscious of a part of ourselves which is keeping us “stuck”. Notice how nothing in your environment changes when you feed your fear and tolerate fear-based thinking? This is because you’re supposed to be using fear as a cheat code to lead you directly to that which you need to overcome in order to progress.
Also, notice how people who seem to be fearless live fast and exciting lives? It’s as if they’ve “freed” themselves up to a host of options and experiences that are presently “off-limits” to those who are fearful. This is because they’ve fought their fear boss, and levelled up to “allow” reality to flow in their direction. The opportunity of your life could be hammering you right over the head, but if you’re indulging in low conscious, fear-based thinking, you wouldn’t even perceive it as such. How many things are you missing out on right now because you can’t even “see” them as opportunities for exciting, rewarding, self-fulfilling growth?
How many people have you rationalised and pushed away due to assumptions? Are you keeping yourself closed off from experiences? What if the very things needed to get you unstuck are already in your environment, but you can’t perceive them because you’re too busy dancing with illusion in the future? What is it that you are afraid of?
“Fear is a manipulative emotion that can trick us into living a boring life.”
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7 Questions to Eliminate Fear-Based Thinking
This exercise is best done with a partner as it helps to have another set of ears listening to your situation. Your partner may discover things about what you say that you’re not hearing yourself. You can learn from this exercise by playing both roles.
1. What scary goal have you been putting off?
Identify one big goal that you have that you’ve been struggling to accomplish. It should be something that is both important and scary at the same time. Here’s a hint: choose the absolute scariest goal you have. It should make your knees shake.
2. What has been holding you back from accomplishing this goal?
Identify what has been preventing you from accomplishing the goal. What are the fears and doubts that are holding you back? Are they coming from inside you or the external world? It’s good to flush out multiple fears here. Aim to identify 3-5 fears. You might discover that the true fear that’s preventing you from going forward is not the first one that comes to mind. You might also discover that the fear you acknowledge has a deeper root cause. Dig deep and see what you can unearth.
3. What would it mean to achieve this goal? How would it feel?
Establish the value of potential accomplishment. Why are you trying to achieve it in the first place? How would you feel when it’s accomplished? Close your eyes and see what emotions come up for you.
4. Pretend for a moment that you could not fail (no matter what!), how would achieving this goal impact your life? What is the best-case scenario?
Now you want to temporarily brush your fear aside and picture the absolute best-case scenario. What is your best possible outcome if you could not fail? How would this goal positively impact your life? Make sure you really dream. With this question, anything is possible.
5. Now pretend for a moment that you did fail, what’s the absolute worst-case scenario?
Put your best-case scenario aside and now picture that your worst fears are true and that you do fail in achieving your goal. Ask yourself, what is the absolute worst that could happen? As you start to really unpack this question you should see that your worst-case scenario is actually not that bad after all. You may even find ways to mitigate the scenarios.
6. Given your best-and-worst-case scenarios, is your goal worth fighting for?
Considering the questions above, now ask yourself if the goal is worth pursuing. If it is, proceed to the next question. If you’re unsure, ask “What’s causing the hesitation?” You may need to unpack your fears a bit more.
7. What is the first step you could take towards accomplishing your goal? When are you going to complete this step?
Now that you’ve established that this goal is worth fighting for, it’s time to commit to action. What is one measurable action you can take in the near future to take a step towards this goal? Write down the goal and the date that it needs to be accomplished. If you’re working with a partner, use them as your accountability partner.
If you do this exercise multiple times you may start to see patterns in the fears that come up for you. If one fear arises over and over again it may require some deeper work to overcome it. Fighting our fears is not something that can be done in one sitting. In fact, we may have to live with some fears forever. But the better we can understand them, the more we can do to tame them so they aren’t getting in the way of our dreams.
“Of all the liars in the world, sometimes the worst are our own fears.”
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All Choice is With You
Life is about learning. It’s about being challenged. It’s about overcoming difficulties. It’s about learning lessons and then feeling the victory of success. Today we are being steered from all of this. Distracted from our true power, darkness has crept into the land. Tumult from every country from one end of the earth to the other. Globally people are unsettled. There is a restlessness among the masses.
Reconsider your place in existence and give yourself more credit for improving your life. Become aware of, and tweak, your beliefs. The bigger picture is growing and expanding, but for those who are in fear, the picture of reality is shrinking. Whenever you are afraid your reality begins to collapse in on you. Your power ends where your fear begins.
“Fear can make you do more wrong than hate or jealousy… fear makes you always, always hold something back.”
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3 Ultimate Weapons to Slay the Fear Boss
High achievers, regardless of industry, understand that taking risks and massive action is a vital part in getting from where you are right now to where you want to go. This is true for life as well as business. When these risks are met with fear, we question our ambitions which can prevent us from taking action. The key is to arm yourself with the three ultimate weapons and slay the fear boss so you can take control of your destiny.
1. Mind Bullets
Developing mantras and affirmations, that build you up and increase your self-confidence, are the mind bullets to slay the fear boss. Read uplifting books to help interrupt the negative inner dialogue that goes on in your mind. Beginning as a child, we are told negative things that we can’t do, be, or have. If you don’t take the initiative to rewire your brain, life will do it for you.
2. Enchanted Map
Plans are the natural conquerer of fears. Set clear and precise goals with a detailed plan on how to achieve those goals, then take action. Worrying, over-thinking, and over-analysing are a clear indication that you don’t have a detailed and well thought out plan. Taking action towards meaningful goals helps to relieve stress and gives you a huge sense of enjoyment. Fear creeps in and paralyses us when we don’t take the time to map out contingencies and options in our lives.
3. Magic Potion
Living in a boring old comfort zone is not the best way to live. Not doing the things that frighten you increases the likelihood that your fears will become bigger – and take over your life! It might be something teeny-tiny that you choose to do, but swallow that magic courage potion and do something every day that scares you. Step out of your comfort zone and work on becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable. When you form the habit of doing something daily that scares you, your courage grows little by little. Soon enough, you’ll slay the fear boss and tremendously maximise your potential.
“Your fear is 100% dependent on you for its survival.”
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Everything that you want in life is on the other side of your comfort zone. Don’t let fear be the reason you live a life half-lived. Making the bold decision to not let fear hold you back anymore is one of the best decisions you can make to ensure future success.
Fear is intertwined with opportunity. It’s often a sign of good things to come if you make the right choices. Fear is perhaps your most familiar “friend.” It’s there when you take the training wheels off your bicycle, try to parallel park for the first time, or give your first big presentation.
So, the next time you’re faced with a big opportunity, and you feel the fear build up inside of you, smile and greet it. Then look just beyond it, and you might see an opportunity you can’t refuse. In order to get to that opportunity, use your mind bullets, enchanted map, and magic potion to go right through the heart of the associated fear boss.
“Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future. It is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist. That is near insanity. Do not misunderstand me danger is very real but fear is a choice.”
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