Fear shows itself in many ways in our everyday lives. Stress, anxiety and doubt, for instance, are simply medical terms for fear. There is a scientific way to turn it off though!
Let’s take a look.
We’ve all heard the term flight-or-fight. The response comes from the amygdala, the part of our brain that is responsible for detecting fear. When you encounter a scary situation or thought, amygdala enters flight mode; turning off all other thoughts.
So how do you change the response? It’s quite simple once you practice. Let’s say you are putting off filing taxes for fear of how much you owe or not knowing how to do them. Instead of worrying about what hasn’t happened yet – start with a small action that isn’t as scary.
In this example, the end goal is to file the taxes. To do that, you need to gather all the information. Reconcile your accounts. Find an accountant.
Once you know the amount you owe (presuming you owe) you can now figure out how to pay that which is an entirely different goal than ‘filing your taxes’.
Breaking down anything you are afraid of into small, manageable steps keeps the amygdala from going into overdrive and pushing you to the point of inactivity.
Repetition is how your brain learns new skills. Visualize yourself doing the things that scare you. Keep doing that in excruciating detail. Imagine how you’ll react to varying outcomes – even the worst outcome possible. If you mentally prepare yourself for every outcome, it will keep you from giving up down the road.
Apply these steps to both big and small goals in your daily life. Break them down and visualize yourself acting on each of the elements. Once you’ve done that, start acting on each of the small steps, one by one – instead of focusing on the end goal.
