While putting together my vision board collage for 2020 I pieced together a quote using magazine clippings. At first, it seemed catchy and I wasn’t sure exactly what the phrase meant to me but it gave me hope; like I could conquer anything that scares me. 

 “Let go of fear or outsmart it!” 

Explore Your Fear.

As an intuitive coach and yoga teacher I see a lot of fear come up for my clients whether it’s on the mat or in their business. Fears of not being good enough, failing, hard work going unnoticed, and even fear of success. Often the fear of these things are so crippling that it’s not just as simple as “letting it go.” Rather than getting frustrated with releasing it, you can learn to outsmart your fear. 

First, you’ll need to do a little exploration. When you have the sense of fear coming up ask yourself these 4 questions:

What am I fearful about?

Why am I fearful?

Where do I feel this fear?

How will I respond to this fear?

Your Fear Language. 

Think of your fear of having its own language. Responding with panic and anger is only going to generate a more fearful inner conversation. Your fear language may be negative thoughts, physical feelings, or even bring up certain memories. It could be a combination of things. Use each fearful moment as an opportunity to understand what is happening within you.

Next, you want to think about how you are going to respond. Responding with positivity, humor, physical activity, and maybe some logic, can confuse your fear because you are not speaking its familiar language. Dancing it off, laughing at how silly it is to fear this thing, or even reciting an affirmation like, “I know my fear is just trying to protect me but right now I’m choosing to be brave.”  When you learn the language of your fear is when you can begin to create a response that will outsmart it. 

There will be an inner dialogue that happens and you will start to wire your brain to respond differently when fear comes up. This also lays a foundation in learning to release it. Like all mindset changes, it takes time and a little trial and error. Changing your response to your fear will help you build confidence, save you stress, and connect with yourself on a deeper, intuitive level.