The Power of Fear
I recently meet with a friend who was completely overwrought with anger and fear. When I first began speaking with him, he was consumed with anger at the universe, the government, and at himself. It was like everything hit at once and the universe, which is usually a friendly place, had become an unfriendly place. As we started to talk, it became clear that the anger was masking a deeply felt fear of what was going to happen in the future.
We all are exposed to an unending stream of apocalyptic predictions caused by global economic downturns, 2012 end of the world predictions, run away governmental spending, natural disasters, and personal debt. Even Hollywood themes are playing to our fears with post-apocalyptic movies like I am Legend, The Road, and The Book of Eli.
In 2009, you would have had to live in a bubble not to experience some type of anxiety about the future.
So what can we do to overcome the power fear has on our lives?
Here is what works best for me…
- Don’t Ignore the Fear…unacknowledged fear just grows. Acknowledge the fear and welcome it into your life. Fear is an emotion, just like other emotions in our life, ignoring it can only cause it to grow.
- Find a Community- Fear is best overcome by sharing and discussing the fear with others in your life. Your partner, family and friends can be a welcome source of releasing the fear. The emotion of fear is “real” whether what you are “afraid” of is real or not. Just because you fear something that may never happen (i.e. 2012 end of the world) does not mean that you are not experiencing the real emotion of fear and need to express it and release it.
- Live in the Present Moment-Most people live in fear about what might happen in the future. That future thinking can take your focus off of the present moment. So be present. Focus on what you can do today or this week.
- Deal with Reality-While iGracedaily is focused on improving our daily life via a spiritual connection to God, we are still living in a physical body on the earth, and that requires you to understand “earth rules”. If you can’t pay your bills then be realistic about how the earth rules will apply to you in that situation and be ready for the result.
- Embrace Your Non-Conformity-Conformity to accepted standards, conventions, rules, or laws may be causing you to do things that increase your fear, so question everything you are doing. If you are living above your means then cut back on spending, if your going to a church that does not foster your connection to Source then drop your membership, if you are living in too expensive of a house, get out of it.Look hard at what your hidden assumptions about your life and do a gut check….is it right for you? The question you must ask yourself is this…”if I eliminate this from my life….is my life better?” If the answer is yes, eliminate it from your life ASAP. You will find that you will become a more genuine person and your fear will reduce.
- Preparation Lowers Fear’s Influence- Being prepared is something that our grandparents knew a lot about. They lived in a world where assumptions about having adequate food and water were less sure. In the last forty years, American’s have been lulled into a sense of security by living in a society in which the power is reliable, the water always runs when you turn on the faucet, there is always food at the grocery store. So after living in this type of world, we have lost many of the skills needed to survive in a less certain world. So becoming more prepared for what might happen is a great way to lower fear.Prepping (the new word hip word describing the act of preparing for anything that might happen) is not just about preparation for some Hollywood type disaster, it is also being prepared for more realistic disasters in your life. We are all more likely to experience an ice storm taking down the power, or the loss of a job, or some other financial blow than the end of the world as we know it. The good news is that when you prepared, you are prepared for anything that can happen.
Here are four simple things to do to get more prepared.
- Store 30 days of food and water at all times;
- Learn what to do in a natural disaster;
- Start a garden, and grow some of your own food.
- Eliminate all debt but mortgage debt.
Each of these guidelines and prepping has improved the quality of my life and reduced my fear in the process.
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