There are many different ways to turn fear into fuel and for so many fear can halt someone right in their tracks. There is good fear and negative fear and sometimes in the midst of the feeling the reactions can cross wired. In this article we will share what has worked for us and for many as well as cover the basics.
What is Good Fear What is Negative Fear?
Good, healthy fear is what protects us, we need this to stay out of danger, for example if you’re in the woods and you see a bear your good fear tells you what to do to stay out of danger. This type of fear is part of our protection and has been inbred in us from the beginning.
Negative fear falls into many categories such as phobias and anxiety beyond ones control. A fear of the dentist, flying on a plane, or even generalized anxiety about people or events would be some examples of this type of terror. This is not to say that these are not just as frightening or important as healthy fear however when this type of fear gets out of control your logical mind takes a vacation and what is left if symptoms of anxiety and more.
Ways to Turn Fear into Fuel
When you take what frightens you and rewire it, it can lessen and in many times dissipate. However this is easier said than done but it can be accomplished with practice. Here is how you can turn fear into fuel:
- Recognize it and acknowledge it – As you may have read I am taking the Elevate Your Life course with Jennifer McLean. During the last session she spoke of this and explained that when you recognize your fear and notice it is there you not only can dig deeper into what is behind the fear. You can also lessen the power of fear by simply taking notice of it instead of denying it.
- Find out what is behind it- many people have are scared of something but are unsure why. They may fear dogs without ever having a bad experience. When you listen to yourself and really take the time to hear what the fear is saying you can uncover the root and hopefully resolve it.
- Retrain your brain– with the new science coming out all the time brain retraining has proven to be quite effective. There are several ways to rewire your mind which include hypnotherapy, EFT, meditation, and other brain retraining techniques.
- Breath – Yes you have heard it before but deep breathing works, if you are not finding that it works for you practice it at home several times a day so it becomes natural and look into limbic breathing.
- If you are right smack dab in the center of an anxiety attack this exercise has helped me in the past. Let’s say you are sitting in the doctor’s waiting room and you feel it welling up and deep breathing does not seem to be enough. Look around your and use your senses:
- I see 5 things– a desk that is brown, and wall that is blue, a shirt that is yellow, socks that are plaid, a picture of a tree
- I hear 4 things – people talking, crinkling of paper, an overhead speaker, and a child crying
- I smell 3 things- a women’s perfume, cleaning product, and my hand lotion
- I feel 2 things – material on my pants, leather on my chair
- I taste 1 thing- the gum in my mouth
By using all the senses you distract yourself and while other techniques may not work we have found that this one works quite well.
It you have ways to turn fear into fuel we have not mentioned please share them with us and our reader in the comment below.
