FEAR - foe or friend?
FEAR is it really a foe or is it your friend and what can we do about it ?
We have all faced something we are fearful about at some point in our life , whether its the monsters under our bed or the ones living in our head, fear can show its face and seem like the might of the universe is standing behind it.
We are born with only two innate fears , however, those being the fear of loud noises and the fear of falling , and both are designed to be our friends, to keep us alive, they are calls to action at times of danger, to run from the loud noise ( a dinosaur perhaps) and to avoid the edges of cliffs while running !
So every thing else, it seems , has some foundation in fiction, or as some have suggested , are mostly
False Evidence Appearing Real.
We have built them up through our life , learned them from another, or have developed them after trauma. We often curse them, hide from them and even in some cases behind them, and nine times out of ten we see them as our foes.
But we are mistaken however, for in essence all fears innate or learned, have that one single purpose, that is, to keep us safe, to keep us ALIVE.
Once we accept that, we can begin to explore our fears more productively using my following guide:
Face - using multi coloured pens and a single sheet of paper, write a list of your fears big and small. For Eg Fear of public speaking.
Embrace - starting with the smallest fears embrace the idea that they are your friend , keeping you safe from some perceived danger , and for each write in a different coloured pen what that could be. For Eg. people laughing at you.
Action - for each perceived danger what alternative action could be taken to keep you safe? For eg. Rehearse until confident before the talk.
Release - review your original list of fears , and strike through each with an alternative colour and Rejoice in your success!
For if people can skydive or paraglide then our fear of falling can be released and all those who love watching lightening storms or going to rock concerts prove that our fear of loud noises can be embraced too!
“Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.” - Marie Curie