Managing fear to make room for goodness

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Part of your brain’s job is to keep you safe. One way your brain attempts to keep you safe is by alerting you to threats and dangers through a strong emotion —</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">fear.</span></em></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s important to remember that fear and danger are two different things. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just because we feel fear doesn’t mean there is an inherent threat or we’re in imminent danger. Many times — a threat is perceived but not at all real.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And sometimes, what feels like fear is really just the discomfort we feel from pushing against our comfort zone’s boundaries. Anything new, anything we’re unaccustomed to doing, will feel uncomfortable and scary at first.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Don’t get me wrong. Fear isn’t the bad guy here. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fear serves an essential purpose of alerting us to dangers and threats. It also alerts us to where there’s a difference taking place. Doing something different — even if it feels amazing and is a step in the direction of a big goal — can send signals of danger to the body. “Be careful! This is different and unfamiliar!”</span></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Bottom line: We need to manage fear. </strong></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When you feel fear…</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Backtrack, if necessary, to identify the source of the fear.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Determine whether the fear is real or just a perception. </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Remind yourself that your growth is inevitable and that you can choose how you grow and comfortably manage the growth process.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 4