Keith JonesMarch 16, 2016

We are biologically designed to gravitate towards fear when faced with challenging situations. It’s in our nature. It helped humankind survive in ancient times when confronted by life threatening dangers like wild animals and disease. And although those same threats aren’t present for most people, we still choose to live our lives in fear.  And doing so can compromise your health, happiness and life experiences. It doesn’t have to be that way. I am here to tell you that you can create awesome out of every situation no matter what it is.

Here are 5 things you can do to shift from fear to awesome:

1. Be present to your thoughts. If you experience a feeling of fear, notice it. Ask yourself why you’re feeling that way. In most cases it’s because you’re dwelling on the past or worried about the future. You can’t change the past so let that go. And when it comes to what could happen, consider you have some say in it and this is where you can alter how you respond to the situation and experience it. The key is to stay present.
2. Read something positive. Listen to something positive. Talk to someone positive. Whenever fear tries to surface for me, I listen to inspirational teacher Wayne Dyer and call my close friends to help me shift my mind to positive thoughts. Dyer effectively reminds me that my thoughts are powerful and that if I change my thoughts, I change my life. My closest friends provide a safe place for me to be vulnerable and share what’s going on. They have no tolerance for victimhood which is great. They simply help me choose a positive attitude and create an action plan to respond to the situation.
3. Detach yourself from what you fear will happen or what you might lose. Deepak Chopra says when we are in our mother’s wound, we have everything we need physically, mentally and emotionally. It’s after we are born that people place an identity on us. We are given a name and told by society and our environment what’s important. So we become attached to our bodies, material possessions, careers, reputation and what people think of us. It’s the fear of losing these things that takes us further away from who we really are and our purpose. So we spend our entire lives defending this false identity. If you want to rid yourself of fear, detach from anything that’s not your loving authentic self. This is where freedom is.
4. Replace fear with curiosity. The more you know the facts about something, the better you are with handling it in a way that is a win win for all involved. If you’re going through a divorce, a fear based move would be to get an attorney to protect you from potentially losing material things. A powerful and loving move would be to talk to people who divorced amicably and are awesome parental partners to their children. Become curious about how they did it. If you’re dealing with an IRS matter, educate yourself thoroughly on tax law so you can respond timely and effectively. Talk to people who have successfully resolved similar inquiries.
5. Know that whatever happens, you will create awesome from it and maintain it by repeating steps 1-5 whenever fear tries to run your life.

Every situation comes bearing gifts. Choose to see it that way and you will win every time. Create awesome.

Keith