Mark Forstater's Blog

Transforming fear into courage

June 17, 2009 at 3:42 pm Leave a comment

Some ways to transform fear into courage:

1. Live in the now. The future does not exist, and when you project your mind forward into it and imagine the worst possible consequences, then you are indulging in harmful and negative fantasy. If you can’t stop fearing the future, then really go into the future in a big way. Imagine what it would be like if your worst fears came true. You’ll find that you can see yourself dealing with it, and coming through
2. Deal with your present situation as objectively as you can. Don’t hide from it or deny it. Open those bills and letters and respond to them. If you can’t pay, ask for an extension. Can you gather all the credit card money you owe into one lower cost loan and manage your payments better?
3. Don’t freeze in fear. Fear and anxiety are contracting emotions. They send your muscles into contraction, make you hold your breath and force your body to surround the heart for protection. To counteract this you need to add expansion to your life. Open your chest with Chi Gong, open your heart with compassion. Yoga and tai chi are expansive exercises, and can help to open the body. Massage and self-massage of the muscles can help to relax them, and reduce tension.
4. Meditate and breathe to reduce stress. Allow your troubled and confused thoughts to rise up and pass away. Don’t follow them, don’t go down that track. Make sure you keep your mind clear and your body healthy. Don’t give in to despair. Maintain a positive approach to your problems.
5. Seek help. Talk to friends and relatives about your problems. Talk to a financial adviser.
6. Be grateful for what you have: family, health, friends. Life is beautiful. Don’t concentrate only on your difficulties, but be aware of the positive aspects of what you have in your life.
7. Engage the will to help you conquer your fear. An ancient Chinese saying is: ‘There is no weapon more deadly than the will’. The will is powerful, and you need to find ways to engage it and get it working for you. To engage the will, you first have to have clear intent. What is it that you want to do? If you can state that clearly to yourself, then you clear a pathway for the will to power ahead and take you there.

Transforming fear into courage is the same as finding freedom.

Entry filed under: Age of Anxiety.