Take the Next Step – Tame Your Fear Through ROAR
Every action starts with a first step. Most of us are afraid to take that first step. And yet, it is with one
step after another that we get where we want to be. Here’s what can get us off the “dread center.” We have to make a choice that we want what is on the other side of fear.
Last week, I asked you to look at how fear shows up in your life. Is it the “fight” or “flight” heart beating out of the chest type of fear? Does it show up for you as exhaustion where you are too tired to do much of anything? Or is it the “zoning out” in front of the TV or on Facebook, not dealing with the challenges that are in your life at this time … career, finances, or relationship? Identifying how fear shows up for you is the first step.
Use ROAR to Tame Your Fear
I have developed a four-step practice that will help you to tame your fear, called ROAR. Over the next several weeks, I will go through each step in-depth giving tips and techniques to put it into your life now.
The first step is R – Recognize:
R – Recognize that fear is just a state of being in your life at this moment—and that it will not last forever. Our bodies aren’t physically able to maintain this highly charged emotional state for long. Once we recognize our fear and how it shows up for us, we can move to the next step.
Fear will always be with you. Saying you are “fearless” means that you are attempting to put fear out of your mind, out of your life. Ignoring fear will not make it go away. Ignoring it (or anything) just means it is in your mind all the time trying hard not to think about it. What you think about the most will only continue to persist in your life. Therefore, not thinking about the fear that is with you and showing up in your life, means you will continue to have this fear.
Recognize that fear can be your “friend” in life and not your “foe”. The way to do this is to R – Recognize how fear shows up for you. Recognition (awareness) is the key to having fear as your “friend”. Once you are able to identify how fear shows up in your life, you can begin to make different choices about how to make it work for you and not against you.
Fear is the mechanism that allows us to grow if only we allow it.
Homework: Begin noticing how your fear shows up for you. Get a journal. Write down all the different ways that fear shows up in your life. Once you write it down, it no longer has control of you. If you keep it in your “head”, that is where it will stay … keeping you stuck, not allowing you to break free.
Next week: O – Open Up