You may have noticed a lot of hype in the media around the race for the Stanley Cup. Teams are facing off against each other in search of hockey‘s most prestigious trophy. Many of these great players have to face off against their hidden fears every time they step onto the ice. What about you? How effective are you in facing off against your fears? Over the course of the next three periods (I mean articles), let me share my seven-step approach to coping with fear.
How do the mechanisms of fear work? A key notion to keep in mind is that your breathing pattern coupled with your thoughts directly affects the body’s chemistry to produce physical symptoms to protect itself from danger or harm. These physical responses manifest themselves in the form of increased muscle tension, breathing rate, blood pressure, heart rate and perspiration. The sensations you feel are designed to happen quickly and powerfully to this perceived emergency situation. Often severe reactions manifest themselves in the form of panic attacks.
Your goal is to unlearn this conditioned response and learn to respond in a new way. The key is in learning how to alter these sensations through proper breathing and muscle relaxation. By shifting your breathing rate or pattern and by helping the muscles relax, you can decrease the effects of stress. Let’s take a look at the first three steps to facing off against your fears.
Step 1: Change your attitude
Just as a hockey player gets fired up at the start of the first period, you too need to focus on adopting a positive mental attitude regarding your fears. Make a point of accepting and believing that you can gain control over fear and your body’s response to stress. If we mentally label a situation as being dangerous or fearful, the body reacts by doing what it is supposed to do, respond physically. The first step to dealing with fear is realizing that you can do something about it. You can learn how to develop coping strategies that will minimize the body’s natural response to the stress associated with fear.
Step 2: Identify your most prevalent fears
A hockey player that is motivated to become better identifies early in his career those areas that need improvement. Are there areas or fears in your life that are holding you back from being the best that you can be? Take a moment now to make a list of those fears that are holding you back from being successful. What do you fear right now and in the future? Try to identify fears or worries that affect all aspects of you life such as relationships, finances, mental health, career, fitness, etc.
Step 3: Learn two calming skills
Calming your breath: The first breathing skill is “natural breathing" and is used whenever you are not involved in physical activity. It involves gently and slowly inhaling air through your nose and allowing it to fill your lower lungs first. You should then exhale easily. Natural breathing requires a relaxed attitude and gentle breathing pattern. The second breathing skill is the “calming breath" and is used when you feel panicky or anxious. This technique is great for controlling hyperventilation, lowering a rapid heartbeat and promoting physical comfort. Take a long, slow inhale as in natural breathing. Fill your lower lungs first, followed by your upper lungs and then hold your breath to the count of “three". Exhale slowly, while you focus on relaxing your muscles in your head, shoulders and torso.
Get into the habit of practicing these two skills on a daily basis preferably 8-12 times throughout the day. All it takes is a few breathes between projects, activities or situations that may arise during your normal daily routine.
Quieting your body: This technique combines visualization with the calming breath. It is one of my favorite calming skills for relieving built up muscle tension. As with the calming breath, slowly fill your lungs with air and imagine that the oxygen is going to re-energize your torso all the way up to your brain. You may even feel a pleasant tingling sensation as you visualize this positive energy flowing from your core to the top of your head. As you slowly exhale, focus on the air flushing out all tension, all
toxins, all worries through your arms and legs and out of your finger tips and toes. Imagine that the air is pushing or stripping all the tension in your muscles. Repeat this process several times while you give yourself some positive self talk about how great you feel with each exhalation. When done properly, you should feel rejuvenated at the end.
As with any new habit, please keep in mind that it requires both patience in allowing your body to develop and adapt to a new routine, as well as an on-going commitment to practice each calming skill frequently. These two calming skills form the foundation upon which the other four steps to coping with fear are built. I’ll see you at the start of the second period as we both face off against our fears together.
The power of a co-creator is an enlightening experience in itself. As we experience the transformation process on the path of enlightenment, we discover just how our role as a co-creator will empower us to succeed. In the article, The Power of a Co-creator Pt.1: No Stumbling Blocks for Success, we discussed how there is nothing blocking our success when we choose the path of enlightenment and let go of the entrapments of the ego. Accordingly, if we get out of our own way, we can catch God's or Source Energy's vision for our lives. That vision is our purpose and answers the questions...who am I and why am I here.
Unfortunately, when we allow the ego in the driver's seat, we lose our footing as a co-creator because we are not living as our true and authentic self. Allowing the ego to take control hinders our growth and we make decisions out of pain, fear, and confusion. As such, the ego will always refuse to grow and advance. This lack of growth and advancement causes disruptions in the flow of abundance, wealth, and success.
Take a look at any advancement a person refuses to make in his or her life. If a person refuses to advance his or her career by leaving a dead-end job, then instead of moving forward, that person may be fired or forced into early retirement. When speaking with such individuals, they usually say: ?I should have left sooner." And with this regret is a long list of opportunities they allowed to pass them by.
Another example of refusing to advance could be a person who refuses to eat more healthful foods. Consequently, this individual's health may start to deteriorate, physically and mentally. When stricken with a degenerative disease, the individual usually says: ?I wish I'd starting eating healthier sooner."
Often times in life, we want to blame our failures on lack of information or resources; however, in most cases our failures are related to complacency and fear?the entrapments of the ego. If we can develop the courage and wisdom to embody knowledge when it is available to us and to advance in the face of fear, then we will have more successes than failures. And this is the stuff that makes truly successful people. With this commitment to the true and authentic self, we progress on the path of enlightenment. We operate on the creative plane instead of the competitive plane.
Sometimes it is hard to believe, but successful people are not born. Successful people do not have some all powerful gene you didn't get. One is successful not because he or she has no failures; one is successful because he or she has more successes than failures. Moving forward and choosing to advance in every aspect of our lives is success. Does it mean that one would not be scared or afraid? Certainly not!
In fact courage is doing a thing in spite of one's fear. If there is no fear, there is no courage. And in time, with more successes, there will be less to fear. With less to fear, one learns to live a courageous life. Consequently, a courageous life is the crown of every successful person. A co-creator wears this crown and advances towards purpose and living in abundance.
Both Randall Stewart & Carmellita Brown are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Randall Stewart has sinced written about articles on various topics from Web Development, Holiday Stress and Stress Management. Randall Stewart has been involved in success training and personal coaching for the past twenty-five years and is the author of “Success is a Four-Letter Word: Learn How to Bring More Abundance & Prosperity into Your Life". He has taught in the corporate,. Randall Stewart's top article generates over 880 views. to your Favourites.
Carmellita Brown has sinced written about articles on various topics from belly fat, Lose Weight and Abdominal. Carmellita M. Brown, a Visionary, Spiritual Teacher, and Wellness Coach, teaches how you can harness the power of a co-creator and have courage in the face of fear. She is the instructor for the world-class online training course. Carmellita Brown's top article generates over 4400 views. to your Favourites.