One of the biggest mental challenges for so many of us is facing our fears. Whatever it is that scare us the most, most all our fears stem from two categories — the fear of uncertainty and the fear of inadequacy. We’re afraid of the unknown and we’re afraid of failure. Ultimately we realize that fears only exist because we let them. The reality in life is that we’re going to deal with things we can’t make sense of or understand, we’re going to fail, and we’re going to face situations which will make us feel uncertain over and over again. The choice is up to us to decide how we deal with those situations. So from my own experience, I’ve developed some strategies that can help us learn to face our fears.
1. Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable
One of the most powerful realizations for me was the power of uncertainty. We’re so afraid of stepping out of our comfort zones and doing things that are different for us that we can’t see how amazing doing those things can be. There’s an openness and a curiosity in engaging in new experiences and putting ourselves out there. Whether it be joining a dance class, taking a solo trip, skydiving, or being honest with someone about how we feel, having the courage to do these things empowers us. Clinging to our fears and anxieties traps us and holds us back from bigger opportunities. Choosing to embrace uncertainty and explore possibilities that may seem foreign to us builds strength and confidence. There’s so much we may never know if we don’t try.
2. Practice Mindfulness in All Things – Slow Down and Be Present
Another huge component to facing our fears is simply slowing down a little bit and finding presence. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when we think about things that scare us. Once we slow down a little and break things down, we start to see these things as not such a big deal. We tend to exaggerate or overthink things in our mind to a point where they become something much bigger and scarier than they actually are. If we take a step back and are mindful and aware of exactly where we are, we begin to see that these fears aren’t quite as scary as they seem. After being able to successfully face something that scares us, we build confidence and the next challenge becomes that much easier.
3. Transform your Negative Thought Patterns
So much of the time, I don’t think we realize how negative our thinking patterns are. It’s easy to get used to negative thought patterns, things that keep us “safe”. We think that being cautious and staying in the places that are comfortable will help us avoid unnecessary pain or disappointment. Yet, doing this ultimately holds us back from reaching our full potential. Maybe we don’t even realize how much our thought patterns hurt us. Instead of thinking about getting through something or getting something over with, think about how much opportunity the experience presents for you. Think with a curiosity, a wonder, an openness. Transforming from a negative or closed-off mindset to one of openness and positivity can truly change the way our experiences go for us. The only thing that matters in the end is the way that we perceive things. The way that we think about our lives and the different situations that we encounter shapes the way that those things go.
4. Embrace the Beauty in the Unknown
So many of us struggle with anxiety. If we think about what anxiety stems from, it generally is simply uncertainty. We are absolutely terrified of not knowing how things are going to go, where something will take us, whether we are making the right choices, and so forth.
If we just take a second to look at this idea of uncertainty in a different way we may begin to see a beauty in it. There’s something so amazing about the unknown. If we accept that change is a natural part of life, we can shift our perspective. This means that the possibilities in life are endless, we don’t know where we will end up. We might be struggling or feel like we are in a dark place in this moment, but we realize that our lives are changing all the time, and we never know where life will take us.
So, maybe you’re reinventing yourself for the millionth time, or you are changing your career, or getting out of a relationship, or questioning whether you are doing what you’re meant to be doing. At the end of the day, that’s a beautiful thing. You have that opportunity to try again, to start over, to find something new, to change your life – over and over again. So instead of fearing not knowing how things will turn out, we can truly accept and embrace that. We can see so much more clearly and maybe find ourselves in places we never knew we would.
Making Mindful 