How to Overcome Fear in 6 Steps
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Fear is completely natural and often a good thing.
It’s a feeling and emotional state that we sometimes experience, just like happiness, inner peace & confidence.
Fear is an integral part of being human, as it helps keep us alive by protecting us from potential threats and dangers, like telling us to run from dinosaurs all those thousands of years ago!
However, in our world today, fear can crop up in unhelpful ways.
For example, many of us are often scared to;
Take the first step towards our dream or goal
Apply for that promotion at work
Embark on an adventure
To enter that race
Attend that event on our own
Among many other things
So in certain circumstances, we need to learn how to overcome fear, use it to our advantage and not let it stop us.
Listen to Sarah Williams on The Wild Show talking about how to take the first step towards achieving your dream.
A time where I experienced the greatest fear, was when I was extremely unhappy at university.
I felt pressured to return to university after fully recovering from my ill health, despite having a deep gut feeling that it wasn’t for me and it was taking me further away from life’s purpose.
In my second year, I had the opportunity to study abroad in Vancouver, and being away from pressures at home, having the time and space to think, and working with a coach, I began to really understand what I wanted to do and that I could do it.
Fear of disappointing my parents and fear of going off the beaten track was why I ended up returning to university and then it held me back from quitting university.
With my coach, I grew more courageous, brave and less fearful, by changing the focus of my internal dialogueand the scenarios I played in my head.
I switched my scenarios and internal dialogue from playing failure, hopelessness, stress, low self-belief and disappointment to success, happiness, confidence and inner peace.
This made all the difference and I was able to quit university in spite of my fear. I was excited about my new path, filled with the unknown.
Do you want to overcome your fear? Follow the 6 steps below!
6 STEPS TO OVERCOMING FEAR
Step 1: Remember a time when…..
Close your eyes and remember a time in your life when you felt really excited, happy and were laughing. What’s the first thing that comes to mind?
For me it would be building a snow hole in Svalbard and we were throwing snowballs at each other and trying to push each other down the fluffy snowy slopes - I was super excited to sleep in a snow hole and was in stitches from laughing!
Whatever that time maybe, just see a picture representing it in front of you.
Step 2: Representing your positive emotion
What does that image look like?
Is it bright or dark?
Is it colourful or black and white?
Is the image defined or clouded?
Does it look rough or smooth?
Does it look hot or cold?
Is the image big or small?
Is the image far away from you or close?
My image looks really bright, with intense and beautiful colours, it’s is sparkling with silver glitter, the image is defined with a smooth surface, it’s huge and really close to me, with a warm glow emanating from it.
Step 3: Facing your fear
Now put your positive image to one side and remember a time in your life when you felt fear, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?
Perhaps you were scared about a forthcoming adventure, to go to an event solo, make the leap to change careers, enter that race.
Whatever that time maybe, see a picture representing that in front of you.
A fearful image is often dark, big and overwhelming, slimy or spiky, very heavy and cold.
It’s very important that once you have it, you don’t linger here, move straight onto Step 4.
Step 4: Overcoming your fear
Now change the qualities of your fear image to match the qualities of your powerful positive emotion image.
Think of it a bit like when you're in Instagram and adjusting the brightness, saturation and contrast of your photo or adding a filter!
You can get really creative here! So just play around until your image feels positively charged and powerful!
Step 5: Watching your wonderful film
Once your image is just right, I want you to run the image in front of you as a film, as if you’re watching yourself in a cinema.
How does that look?
Edit that film until it’s exactly how you want it to look.
Maybe you need to adjust their posture so their shoulders are back, put a smile on their face, brighten the colours, make it warmer, etc.
Change anything you like until your film would win an Oscar for the best positive looking!
Step 6: Stepping into the new, awesome you
Now step into the film and really feel what it feels like to step into their shoes.
Really embrace those positive powerful feelings that are flooding into every cell and every fibre of your body.
Truly enjoy every moment, bask in it all its glory and think about how it feels to be like that now and in the future.
You can stay here for as long as you like.
And then imagine you’ve got really used to being this way, it’s just second nature to you. It’s been so many days, weeks and months that you’ve felt this incredibly amazing.
Just feel how it feels to be who you are in this new way, how it allows for something magical to occur…
Then when you’re ready, bring yourself slowly back and notice how it feels to have that change occurred already.
