Talking Your Way Out of Fear
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes
Can the mere act of talking about a fear help you overcome that fear?
Do you keep all or most of your fears to yourself? How scary is it for you to think about letting someone else know about your fear? How does it feel when you think about someone finding out about your fear? How would it feel to not have to hide so many things from the outside world?
All fears are valid fears to the person experiencing them. When you have two fears that exist together, they multiply each other. When you have a fear of something and a fear of telling people about your fear, your overall level of fear is exponentially higher than when you have a fear of something alone. This means the rewards from overcoming your fear of talking about some of your fears will be enormous.
To start talking about your fears, I invite you to write them down. There is no need to make your initial writing public. The mere fact of writing them down and then not getting any negative feedback will help you start to overcome your fear. If you are uncomfortable writing or typing, then use a voice recorder. The key here is to take your fear from inside and bring it outside of you in a safe way.
As your level of fear of talking about your fear decreases, make a conscious decision to share your fear with someone you trust. I invite you to pick the person you feel will either show you the most empathy or be the most supportive of you. As your level of fear of talking about your fear continues to decrease, I invite you to share your fear with more people.
I invite you to share your fear with people until you become comfortable sharing the fear. Eventually, you will get to the point where sharing your fear feels like no big deal. Even if the fear is not completely gone – yet. I invite you to utilize each chance you get to talk about your fear to help you work through and beat the demon of fear you are battling.
When you stack the fear of talking about a fear on top of the fear itself, you multiply the effects of that fear.
How this applies to authentic empathy…
When it comes to authentic empathy and talking about your fear, authentic empathy from you and from others will be key to your success in overcoming the fear. To begin with, I invite you to have a high level of authentic empathy for others. Many people will say your fear is nothing to be ashamed of and they look at it as no big deal. Some will act like you talking about it is nothing to worry about. It is a good thing that they are being supportive of you and reassuring you that everything is ok. The challenge becomes when they act and sound dismissive towards you when they are saying it is no big deal. The fact is that they do not know they are being dismissive. They also do not realize the effect their dismissiveness can have on you when you are opening-up about your fear. A high level of authentic empathy from others will also be key. When you initially start talking about your fear, I invite you to find people close to you with a high level of authentic empathy for you. The more authentic empathy people show you the faster you will get over the fear of talking about your fear.
How this applies to WACASHWI…
When it comes to WACASHWI and talking about your fear, as you go through the process, looking for ways to reduce your stress and extraneous thoughts will help you get more done. When you put a fear on the list you are working to overcome, I invite you to limit your stress and extraneous thoughts by talking about the fear with those closest to you. The first goal here is to limit the initial effects of the fear. The second goal here is to limit how stressful the fear gets.
Your daily invitations…
- I invite you to think about one fear that you have a fear of sharing with people.
- I invite you to consider how much better you will feel when you only have the fear to worry about and not the fear of someone finding out about your fear.
- I invite you to write down your thoughts, feelings, and actions in your journal.
- I invite you to talk about your fear with someone close to you who empathizes with and supports you.
Final step – how will you implement one thing you learned today in your life?
This all is but one step in your journey to living a more stress-free life, beating the demons of fear, and raising your level of authentic empathy towards yourself and others.