Fear comes in Hangry AF!
Wanting to be fed ASAP before it says things it will regret.I mean I don’t know from experience or anything.
One of the best things I have heard on fear recently is from Elizabeth Gilbert. Paraphrasing here but she talked about how she isn’t immune from feeling fear. What has changed is how she deals with it and that’s in that she welcomes it but that’s about it. She says “Thanks for showing up and trying to keep me safe. You can come on this journey but you have to sit in the backseat and can’t say anything.”
This has stuck with me.
In full transparency, there is a ton of uncertainty these days in our household and fears masked as frustration, anxiety and sadness are popping up. It feels like every option and outcome has even more uncertainty init. It's like a nesting doll of fear.
It's natural to feed those fears and honestly easier to feed into them than not. Our brains are hardwired to take the easy route and unfortunately feeding fears often comes more naturally than starving them out.
It takes awareness and work to acknowledge the fears you feel and the lessons it is trying to teach you but leave it at that. Feeding our fear only makes it come back for more. It's like feeding a stray cat. This feels like its my analogy limit for one post.
How are you feeding your fear these days? What can you do to stop feeding the fears and use the energy for things that will fuel you for success?
If you are full of fear try this three-step process to minimize the hunger pains you may be feeling.
1. Write them Down – It’s perfectly normal for us to feel fear but we don’t have to let it control our lives. Grab a pen and paper and write it down. Write down all the fears from small to large. Taking our fears from our head and heart to paper is one of the best ways to diminish the power of our fears. In our head they can become overwhelming but once we see them on paper, they often become a little less scary plus you know what you are really dealing with.
2. Measure your Fear – Now that you’ve written them down, ask yourself “On a scale of 1-10, how true is this?” Our minds run rampant often leading us to thoughts that aren’t even close to the truth. We can spiral from “I am fearful about losing my job” to “I will be destitute and homeless,” quicker than a Kyrgios serve. Okay THAT is my last analogy. Ask this question for each of your fears. Other questions to ask are “How certain is this to happen?” or “If it did happen, what could I do next?”
3. What is one action you can take to lessen the fear? - Fear and the other ways it manifest itself in worry, anxiety, helplessness, etc. can be combated by ONE thing. Action. When we continue to feed the fear, it lingers around waiting for more fuel, distracting us from moving forward with our lives. Looking back on your fears and how true they are, what is one thing you can do to counteract this. You may have a fear that is very real for you but I know there is at least one thing you can do to lessen the power of that fear.
You have a duty to live your best life and show up as your best self. You don ot have a duty to feed your fear every time it comes in begging for food.
Fear can stay Hangry AF. You have better things to do.
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