4 Strategies to Break Through Fear

“Action cures fear.  Indecision, postponement, on the other hand, fuels fear.

                                                                                                       - David J. Schwartz, Ph.D.

We certainly live in uncertain and challenging times.

In times of challenge, it is understandable for us to be in fear.  It is a natural reaction. 

While unpleasant, one could argue that sometimes fear can be a good thing.  Being aware of potential danger and having concern for our personal safety can keep us out harm’s way.  It can also provide us with a surge of power to overcome an immediate threat that confronts us.

As an instructor in adrenal self-defense training for over twenty-five years, I have witnessed time and again, students using their fear as a catalyst for accessing their inner power.  When they do this, fear becomes their friend, their asset, and their secret weapon.  It allows them to access a power inside themselves that they didn’t even know that had. 

In this way, they transform their FEAR into FIERCE.

However, when fear overtakes us, it can cause us to show up at our worst.  Irrational worry and paranoia can cause us to project our fear onto others in the form of blame, criticism, and panic. 

It can also lead us to freeze, paralyzing us from taking appropriate action in times of challenge.

We are inhibited by fear in two distinct ways; the fear of “what is” and our fear of “what may be”.  When these occur, we can ignore, or simply not be able to see, the opportunities for constructive actions that lie before us that can create the positive change we desire.

So, how to do we navigate through our fear so we can come out stronger and more empowered on the other side?

1) Feel the Fear, Let it Pass Through and Surrender to it - It is important for us the feel the fear, as uncomfortable as it may be, and then let it pass through us.

By repressing or suppressing our fear, we only set ourselves up for greater stress, decreased reasoning and even physical illness. Consciously feeling the fear and letting it pass through us, helps to dissipate the energy, and fosters a sense of calm and clarity.

Surrender does not mean “giving in” to our challenges. It does not mean running and hiding from life’s difficulties and shirking our responsibilities.  Rather, it means is “giving up” our resistance to “what is” so we can focus on the actions we need to take. 

When we focus our energies on fighting what we don’t want (resisting our fear or our circumstances), we use up energy that could be used for going where we want to go.  This resistance simply makes us ineffective.  Or as author Byron Kate quips……………“When you argue with reality you lose….but only 100% of the time.”

2) Stop, Drop and Breathe – When you find yourself in a situation that has you caught up in fear and resistance, do the following ……………….

• Stop and look at it for what it REALLY happening and determine what you can do about it (without the story). 
• Drop into your heart to access your inner guidance
• Breathe deeply to slow down your mind.  Few good choices are made when we are in a state of panic or resistance.  Doing this will allow you to better accept the situation as it currently is and focus your attention on the action needed to address it.

3) Ask for help when needed – One of the most courageous things we can do is to ask for help, when we need it. 

No one great has ever gotten where to where they desire to be without the help of others.  Asking for assistance, when needed, is not a sign of weakness, it is actually a sign of strength.  

Who are the people in your life you can reach out to when times are tough?  Who are the people you know that have navigated the fear of uncertain times and have moved through to the other side?  Who are the people that can hold you CAPABLE of your greatness by reminding you of your powerfulness and won’t allow you to show up as anything but?

4) Take action – From this new place of calm and clarity - take action.

As the quote above by Brian Schwartz says, “action cures fear.” It gets us out of our head and into our bodies.  When we do this, we dissipate the nervous and fearful energy that can get trapped inside of us when we are ruminating over difficult and scary circumstances.

This may be easy as simply getting out and taking a walk.  Just moving our bodies releases the endorphins that allow us to tap into our creativity and bring new ideas forward. 

When we are honest with ourselves, we are usually the happiest when we are powerfully moving through challenges.  It is not the challenge that causes us stress, but rather that fact that we don’t understand how to deal with it.  The stress of not knowing “how” and the uncertainty of the future is what causes the upset, not the event itself.

You may believe you do not know your next action step.  If you don’t know what to do, simply slow down your thoughts and think of the next right move and take it.  Then the next right move after that, and the next, and the next.  Just this simple step of taking action allows you to tap deeper the source of power that is always within you.

This week, I challenge all of us to look at how we can use this current situation as an opportunity to grow and serve at a higher level.  Practice these four strategies to bring greater peace, clarity and focus to our lives. 

We’ve got this!

Chris Natzke

Black Belt Leadership Speaking & Coaching

PS: If you have FINALLY decided it is time to move through your fear to experience a breakthrough in your life or busienss, check out my Breaking Through Online Program .