Don’t let your fear control you

We are currently in uncharted waters, which I am sure for many of us (me included) is bringing up feelings of fear, overwhelm, loss of control, helplessness. 

Making decisions from a place of fear, is unlikely to have the results you want in the long term.

Understand you fear and embrace it 

Fear is our brain's way of keeping us safe.  Fear comes from our amygdala, sadly our amygdala cannot tell the difference between a lion coming to eat us and having to give a public speech. 

Fear is not a bad or good thing, we can not help it when we feel fear – fear shows up unannounced, unasked – we can’t help when we feel fear but we can choose what we do with it. When we feel fear we tend to withdraw. Fear tends to make us shrink, feel small. Fear can immobilise us. 

It is important in these uncertain times that you understand your fear and how it changes your behaviour, so you can catch it to make sure you make decisions and take actions that will set your future self up for success. Do not let your fear control you. 

Name you Fear 

It can be as simple as saying your fear out-loud, that gives you the ability to control it.  I am fearful of [insert your fears]. When you ignore your fear, it does not go away, it grows and gets bigger and uglier, when you face it, it shrinks. 

Be willing to pivot 

No one is having the 2020 they thought they were going to have. Be ready and willing to pivot your direction, your plans, your goals. You may have to take a different path now, you can still achieve your goals, but the path will not be the one you had planned out on 1 January 2020. 

Your ability to adapt  is what is going to set you up for success when this crisis passes. 

Talk about how you are feeling 

Do not go through this alone, you are not alone. The whole world is going through this, we are all in this together. Please reach out to your community, do not hide your fear and your feelings from others, talk openly, honestly and rawly about how you are feeling.

Do not shut yourself away, you may not feel like socialising or talking to anyone, push through it. It is Physical distancing, not social distancing, you can still talk and connect with your community. You do not need to nor should you cut yourself off. If you are not up to speed with all the technology available to us, the phone works just as well. 

Yes we need to be physically distant right now to protect everyone's health, but we can always be socially connected. ??????

Long term thinking 

While it’s difficult to consider the long term when you’re knee deep in a crisis, it’s important to keep an eye on the future. We will get through this, we will get to the other side of this, we will find our new ‘normal’. 

Yes, in this moment you may not have the financial security you woke up with at the start of the year. Do not be short sighted, think strategically, use this time to set your future self up for success, take steps today your future self will thank you for. I know it is really tempting to sit on the sofa and binge watch Netflix until this is all over. Now is the time to take action, now is the time to build your networks, get your LinkedIn profile, and resume up to speed. Do one thing everyday that your future self will thank you for once we start to come out of the other side of this. - that day will come.