Embracing Uncertainty

So, in the words of Susan Jeffers, how do you “Feel the Fear and do it Anyway?”

You cannot experience fear and gratitude at the same time. These emotions reside in different parts of your brain and if you consciously focus on one emotion you cannot experience the other. This can be challenging if you choose to focus on the fear. However, imagine the results you would have if you, instead chose to focus on gratitude. The fear would fade, allowing you to embrace the uncertainty and feel calm and appreciative at the same time. Awesome isn’t it?

The power is in conscious awareness, choice and action.

Exercise: Hold your arms out to your side and imagine you are holding fear in your right hand and gratitude in your left hand. Now focus on Fear. In order to do this you will need to turn your head to the right so that your focus will be on your right hand. Can you see your left hand? No. You cannot possibly see gratitude in your left hand if you are focused on the fear. Now turn your head to the left and focus on gratitude. Notice how the fear has gone from your conscious awareness. The more you focus on the gratitude you have for the moment, the fear will continue to fade.

As outlined in Gavin De Becker’s book “The Gift of Fear” our ability to control our response to our fears is based on 7 key areas/abilities:

1. Our ability to motivate ourselves (allow yourself to be your own hero)
2. Our ability to persist against frustration (your ability to manage rejection)
3. Our ability to delay gratification (there is no such thing as quick wins)
4. Our ability to regulate moods (pendulum / normaliser)
5. Our ability to hope (purpose / reason)
6. Our ability to empathise (all that separates you from others is experience)
7. Our ability to control impulse (wheel of life balance)

So let’s look at the choices you have to embrace uncertainty & let go of your greatest fear, right now!

• If you were fearless, what could you do?
• What will you have instead?
• What would being fearless give you and those around you?
• How would you feel and what would you be noticing about yourself? What is the most important reason for letting this fear go?
• What would be the biggest gain / reward for being fearless?
• What would you no longer be tolerating, missing out on or sacrificing by being fearless? 

Great! NOW put your old fear that you’ve decided to conquer into a brown paper bag and throw it into that fast flowing stream (or into the flames) to release the old connection. Just let it go and NEVER mention it again.

“It takes as much courage to have tried and failed as it does to have tried and succeeded.” ~Anne Morrow Lindbergh