What would change about your life if you lived with less fear? What chances would you take? How would your perception of the world change? What permission would you give yourself? How would overcoming fear change the way you communicate? Your relationships? Where you live and work? What would become possible that isn’t right now?
Chances are, Fear is affecting you and your life more than you realize. It’s certainly been true for me and the majority of the women I coach. When I chose to face my own She Beast named Fear, I started by understanding her.
Here’s what I learned. Fear is “an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that something or someone is dangerous; likely to cause pain or a threat.” I thought, “Hold the phone Charlene! I can control what I believe. And that means I can control how I feel.” That realization was a total game changer. It became a foundation for the life-coaching I do with women to understand and overcome Fear.
Fear is a toxic, sneaky little minx who wears a wide variety of disguises. Sometimes, Fear dresses like self-protection. When you’re faced with a life-threatening situation, a healthy shot of Fear can keep you safe. But, when Fear moves in and over stays her welcome, she sabotages your thoughts, overall health, energy, and emotions.
Fear can dress like anger, emotional reactivity, insecurity, evasiveness, and sarcasm. She can wiggle her way into your thoughts, language, non-verbal communication, actions, and overall vibe. Fear can become your energy source, grabbing you by the hand and leading you into dark, murky places, where false perception, self-limiting beliefs, and self-doubt hang out. Too much time with those knuckleheads alters your perception and reality.
Fear can charade as a thief who steals your joy, self confidence, and faith in good people. Fear is one of the biggest barriers when it comes to actualizing your potential.
When Fear’s at the helm, she triggers your primitive flight-fight-freeze mode.
Your body gets flooded with stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline which causes inflammation in your body. Over time, your health takes a nose dive. These stress hormones also impair cognition which makes thinking clearly really freakin’ hard. If you’ve ever felt like you’re stuck in quicksand- hopeless, anxious, exhausted, or powerless, you’ve likely been sailing on The SS Fear for too long.
Here’s the cool part. Fear can also be a sage teacher when you choose to stop running and learn from her. You’re in the driver’s seat of your life. Fear does not exist outside of you. She exists within you.
You have the power to overcome Fear by understanding her. Mindfulness paired with coaching help you connect with your power. This dynamic duo helps you create awareness to explore the belief fueling your fear response. It challenges your mindset and helps you reset your thinking. Awareness can help you overcome fear and experience your life with more clarity, courage, abundance, and optimism.
Here are three of the questions I offer the women I coach to help them kick start their fear awareness:
- Where did my belief come from?
- What about that belief is true for me right now?
- What do I want to do with that belief now that I understand it?
*Are you ready to dismantle your fear with mindfulness based life coaching? I may e able to help. let’s talk.
