"Fear" is a physical and emotional response to something that is a real threat - - like a bear chasing you or jumping out of the way of a car coming at you.
But "F.E.A.R.?" It's an acronym that stands for: False Evidence Appearing Real.
It's also a physical and emotional response, but it's around the unknown, often imagined and made-up by our minds, that we think is real.
As Brian Clarke at CopyBlogger says:
F.E.A.R. is an illusion. Something we fabricate in our own minds and pretend is real. It’s a fairy tale we tell ourselves that keeps us from doing what we really want.
Some examples of F.E.A.R. are public speaking, publishing on social media, posting videos on YouTube, starting a business, and changing career paths.
While we can't get rid of actual fear, nor would we want to, because it's our brain signifying that a threat is present and keeps us safe.
F.E.A.R., however, holds us back and prevents us from doing things we'd love to do.
Fortunately, F.E.A.R. is something we can learn to control and navigate.
My favorite strategy for breaking-through fear is changing my MINDSET!
Often when I experience F.E.A.R., I'm focusing on all the things that could go wrong.
Like when I first started blogging, and F.E.A.R was present, I thought: What if nobody reads my posts? What if I suck at writing? What if my ideas are bad? What if it brings out the haters?
Does this sound familiar?
What I do to change my mindset is focus on all the things that could go right!
Changing my thinking to: What if my ideas are good, and I just need to develop my communication skills? What if one person reads my post and their life is impacted? What if hundreds of people read my posts? What if millions of people read my posts and their lives are changed?
Focusing on everything that could go right always changes my mindset and makes all the what-ifs that could go wrong seem insignificant.
How about you? What strategies do you use to break-through F.E.A.R.?