Eliminating Fear Helps You Succeed
Fear is known as one of the seven universal emotions experienced by humans. Fear is an emotion that presents itself in response to a threat of harm, whether physical, emotional, or psychological, and whether that threat is real or imagined.
Typically fear is viewed as a negative emotion, though in many instances it serves the vital purpose of activating us so we can cope with potential danger. In times of crisis and uncertainty, fear can absolutely dominate one’s thoughts and emotions. Thus, learning how to manage and overcome fear is a vital skill to help people navigate through life.
- Relaxation Techniques: Relaxation techniques are forms of stress management that work to decrease the effects of stress on the mind and body. This can be especially useful in situations where anxiety and panic can override and overwhelm.
When practiced these techniques can improve mood, reduce stress hormones, slow breathing, decrease heart rate, and reduce frustration, all of which can be associated with fear. Relaxation techniques can include things such as yoga, massage, aromatherapy, music, and art among others.
- Ask for Help: One of the best ways to overcome fear is to seek help. When we are experiencing a fear-inducing situation it can be tempting to isolate ourselves because of shame or concern for ourselves or others.
But whether it is helping to cope with the fear or helping actually conquer the fear, reaching out to others to get support ensures that fear doesn’t get the best of you and that it does not cause you to cave under the stress or make poor decisions. Others can provide the emotional support needed to help us process our feelings and develop coping methods so we can remain strong and overcome fear.
- Visualization: Visualization is a process of mind mapping or imaging that can be very useful when it comes to dealing with fear. When faced with a situation or stimulus that causes fear, visualizing the steps you can take to overcome the situation or tackle the stimulus creates a type of muscle memory in the brain.
Then, by the time you actually get ready to do the action your brain is more likely to follow the pre-ordained steps, which eliminates the fear of the unknown and ensures greater chances of success.
- Meditation: Meditation is the practice of focusing on a specific thing (breathing, body sensation, or object) as a means of developing self-awareness, inducing calm, and increasing attention. Meditation can be used to combat fear by intentionally choosing to focus on something other than the trigger causing the fear and regularly engaging in the practice as a means of redirecting and gaining control of your thoughts. Through meditation, you can manage and calm your fears and thus manage distressing situations.
- Affirmations: An affirmation is a phrase or sentence designed to influence the conscious and subconscious mind. The ultimate effect of this is a change to our thought processes, habits, environments, behaviors, and actions as a result. When faced with fear the goal should be to speak affirmations that encourage, uplift, and pivot from the ‘scary’ trigger, thereby reinforcing positive thoughts and positivity directly combatting the fear.
It is possible to overcome fear, rather than allowing it to get the best of you. When you enact intentional methods of coping, you can alter your response to fear and navigate life with more ease and simplicity. .
