There is a lot of fear these days. Will I get sick? Is my job safe with all the changes going on? Could I lose everything in my retirement fund? Are my kids okay? Is the country falling apart?
We have several things working against us in this regard. For one, as humans, we are wired to pay attention to threats. Our ancestors had a lot more uncertainty and dangers, thus the human brain had to be on high alert. So, it makes sense that we pay attention to anything that could bring us harm.
Another thing working against us is that media companies, marketers, and advertising specialists know that fear drives behavior. They use fear to get us to tune in, buy their products, and click on their sites. Instead of reverting to what we know to be true, we skip the process of actually giving things thought, and just accept what we hear or read as truth.
So, how do we overcome this? How do we have less fear? How do we live a life full of joy, confidence, and happiness? I’ll give you three quick tips guaranteed to help.
First, be careful who you listen to. If you listen to media sources that have an agenda, your information will be skewed. If you listen to friends who thrive on negative stories, gossip, or worst case scenarios, you’ll get drawn into that way of thinking. Seek out reliable and positive sources. Initially, when COVID started, like everyone else, I was quite worried. There were a lot of unknowns. It was scary. But instead of freaking out and panicking, I started to pay attention. I noted that a lot of people weren’t showing any signs of illness, even when contracting the virus. I noted that very few people that I actually knew were having complications or dying. It became clear very quickly that the most at risk populations were the elderly, the obese, and those struggling with other health issues, such as COPD, diabetes, and emphysema. I realized that my risk of complications or death were very small, so my worrying weaned.
A second thing you can do to overcome fear is to take action. Instead of sitting around worrying, get moving. If a severe storm is rolling in, you could do nothing, which may increase your risk of trouble, our you could batten down the hatches, as they say, to prepare and protect yourself. Your risk lessens, your level of safety goes up, the odds of you being harmed goes down, and fear lessens. During COVID, I knew that doing nothing was not a great strategy. I also knew that avoiding the virus was likely futile. So, I did what I could to ensure that my immune system was as strong as possible. I continued to exercise, ate well, took my supplements, got good sleep, and focused on the fact that we would get through it and be okay.
If you’re worried about your investments, diversify them. If you’re worried about contracting some illness or getting sick, build up your body and do things to reduce that risk. Concerned about losing your job? Start learning new skills, make yourself more valuable, and be extremely dependable. Worried about a relationship? Start putting more time and energy into it, and make it a priority. Waiting and doing nothing is a terrible strategy. Having no plan is actually a very bad plan. And preparation reduces fear.
Thirdly, you need to focus on the positive. Our brains are equipped with something called the reticular activating system (RAS), which acts as a gatekeeper between your conscious and subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind can process 11 million bits of information per second, while the conscious mind can only process 40-50. Your subconscious mind focuses on what you feed it. Start your day with positive affirmations, gratitude exercises, prayer, or reading uplifting material. Ask yourself better questions, or reframe the way you ask questions. Instead of asking what went wrong today, try asking what went right today. Instead of thinking about all the problems you might have at work today, think about all the possibilities. Instead of thinking about the things that aren’t good about your relationships, think about what’s great.
Fear is a natural and essential emotion. Too little and we put ourselves in danger by missing cues and walking aimlessly through life. But too much and we get stressed out, unhappy, and live a limited life. So much of what we worry about never actually happens, so why waste that time? Uncertainty fuels fear, so fill your brain with correct information from reliable and reputable sources, take steps to eliminate risks and build up resistance, and think more about what is good in your life and the incredible things that are possible.
You may not be able to become fearless, and you do not need to be, but you do need to have less fear, greater certainty, and more peace of mind so you can live a better life.
