{"id":36605,"date":"2015-11-10T14:29:29","date_gmt":"2015-11-10T22:29:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=36605"},"modified":"2016-10-04T18:22:02","modified_gmt":"2016-10-05T02:22:02","slug":"4-steps-for-overcoming-fear-and-anxiety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/4-steps-for-overcoming-fear-and-anxiety\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Steps for Overcoming Fear and Anxiety"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

 <\/p>\n

I never realized how pervasive my fear and anxiety was until I finally broke free of it. Looking back I can see it had a silent grip on me in so many areas of my life. Like a ball and chain, it gave me just enough<\/em> room to move whereby I could manoeuvre\u00a0day-to-day within my comfort zone, but not enough room where I felt able\u00a0to go any further.\u00a0Thankfully, over the last\u00a0few years that’s\u00a0all changed. Below are\u00a05\u00a0key insights that helped me to break free, along with a\u00a0simple 4-step process\u00a0you can implement right now<\/strong> to interrupt fear and anxiety in the same way I did, spring-boarding yourself in a whole new positive direction.<\/p>\n

Realisation\u00a0#1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unless a\u00a0large animal with sharp teeth, or an angry person with a weapon, is chasing you (whereby you should turn and run for your life), then fear is just an “feeling\u00a0messenger” signalling\u00a0that you’re entering uncertain territory and that\u00a0something amazing is available to you<\/strong> – expansion beyond\u00a0your comfort zone<\/em>. In this way, fear\u00a0is healthy and normal.<\/p>\n

To realise that fear is healthy and normal is liberating,\u00a0because it means you don’t have to wait to have “no fear” before you act, and it means you can feel the fullness of your fear while taking action and know that nothing is wrong with you or with the situation!<\/p>\n

Quite simply, you are not designed\u00a0to be fearless.<\/strong> And\u00a0everyone has the inbuilt capacity to use their fear to fuel them forward, to be<\/strong> fear-conquering<\/strong> <\/em>in each moment, to aid their personal growth.<\/p>\n

Realisation #2<\/strong><\/p>\n

In my own\u00a0experience, and in working with many people over the years, I see that most fear and anxiety (not all) is\u00a0generated by thoughts you are having<\/strong> about “X” (person, thing, event, circumstance,\u00a0possibility).<\/p>\n

The fear and anxiety is not<\/em> based on something happening before your eyes in this present moment, but rather it’s an emotional reaction to an internal dialogue in\u00a0your mind.<\/p>\n

Realisation #3<\/strong><\/p>\n

Further, most fear and anxiety (not all) is generated specifically<\/em> by thoughts that are\u00a0future projected<\/strong> – you are fearful and anxious about something that might<\/em> happen (in the next second, hour, day, week, month or year).<\/p>\n

Realisation #4<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you logically understand that thoughts are the root cause<\/em> of your fear and anxiety, and specifically thoughts that\u00a0are\u00a0future projected, then you have found your Point of Power<\/em>\u2026 because your thoughts can be changed, and the future has not occurred yet, so it not “reality” in your current experience.<\/p>\n

The reason this is your Point of Power<\/em> is because if you consciously get out of\u00a0that thought process<\/strong> (by interrupting it, see the\u00a0process below)\u00a0and become present in the now moment, you are immediately released from the fear and anxiety<\/strong>. It is instantaneous in that moment. The challenge, of course, is\u00a0how to remain out of that negative\u00a0thought process consistently, and how to remain present consistently, as the mind tends to wander back to\u00a0it’s habitual\u00a0thought patterns and future projected negativity. This will happen until you retrain it to do something else.<\/p>\n

Realisation #5<\/strong><\/p>\n

Own your mind or it will own you.<\/strong> You have control over your mind, you can manage and redirect\u00a0your thoughts, but it\u00a0takes practise. The more you practise, the better you become at it.<\/p>\n

Your\u00a0“reality” is entirely what you make it, experienced through your thoughts. Those thoughts are based on your paradigm – the lens\u00a0through which you individually and uniquely perceive, filter and interpret EVERYTHING in life.<\/p>\n

Always remember\u00a0that fear\u00a0and anxiety do not arise<\/em> because of the “thing” that you fear or are anxious about. They occur because of your mind’s distortion\u00a0of that thing<\/strong>. So, fear and anxiety are not happening to you <\/em>(circumstance), but they are happening\u00a0through<\/em> you<\/em> (paradigm),<\/em> and you have all the\u00a0power to\u00a0alter yourself from the inside-out to interrupt this negative cycle, irrespective of circumstances, and reorient yourself in a whole new positive\u00a0direction.<\/p>\n

Realisation #6<\/strong><\/p>\n

Essential to that reorientation in a new positive direction\u00a0is to know that you are not your mind, and you are not your thoughts.\u00a0<\/strong>You are the conscious\u00a0awareness<\/em> that can observe your\u00a0thoughts. \u00a0This is your way out!\u00a0<\/strong>Fear and anxiety will continue to grip you until you get this vital distinction<\/em> and therefore get some “distance” and detachment from that noise in your mind.<\/p>\n

A simple way to\u00a0experience yourself as conscious awareness right now, and to know you are not your mind\/thoughts, is as follows:<\/p>\n