How to Bend Fear into Action (in 2 Steps)

What are you afraid of?

Career change? Public speaking? Being honest?

Would you like to bend that fear into positive emotion?

Well, I have a simple solution for you, and it’s based on an unscientific approach that has helped me immensely.

It’s all about incorporating basic practices to tame dread and trepidation and get on with life.

When I look back at my youth I see a vivid picture of fear, anxiety, and apprehension and this progressed well into adulthood. I’ve spent much of my life in this condition.

Have you experienced or do you now endure a constant feeling of dread?

Something that always creeps into the background and disables you?

Kills your spirit?

Been there. So done that.

I was skilled at not showing it, but the feeling was always percolating in the background, often stopping me dead in my tracks with crippling effects.

I was detached, isolated, and tense.

Presenting a confident exterior, but knee-deep in dread and apprehension. The feeling festered within.

But I did change.

How’s Your Amygdala?

Feelings such as dread, anxiety, and worry are emotions originating in a limbic system structure that goes by the term amygdala.

Don’t worry, I can’t pronounce it either. So for this little exercise, we’ll call it our lizard brain (the reptile within).

Steven Pressfield calls it, The Resistance.

It is a strange and wonderful part of the human machine. It’s something that has allowed us to survive for eons and sure came in handy when mountain lions wanted to eat us for breakfast.

But in our modern world, this primitive programming can dominate every little decision and often govern your life.

It almost crushed mine.

What about you?

If you’re experiencing this feeling, would you like to tame that chattering reptilian brain? Tell it to go away?

Well, the slimy critter will always be there operating in the background, but you can certainly tame it or at least learn to deal with it.

Here are a few unscientific steps. They may not work for everyone, but they did help me.

Step 1: Change the story

Altering a negative storyline in your head can change the way your old noggin processes any experience. If you work to change a story it dulls the dread and anxiety and might even spark you to action.

Taming this programming can be a task, but it’s more about incorporating practices into your daily routine. And this cognitive reassessment stimulates your more evolved prefrontal cortex, reducing the influence of the hard-wired fear response.

Recreating a scenario from half-empty to half-full numbs the dread, helping you focus on positive outcomes, and it might even spark you to action.

Studies have demonstrated that you can reframe an event and decrease your primal limbic responses.

It might sound trite, but continually reinforcing affirmative thoughts works, for me at least.

If you can just examine the reptile in action you can make it happen. It’s like overseeing these crazy emotions and seeing them for what they are; hard-wired programming you must learn to deal with.

Play the observer of your ancient programming and constantly work to reframe those thoughts.

Step 2: Take on discomfort

I often think activities that frighten me are the fears I must take on. I’m not saying you need to bungee jump off a bridge in New Zealand or run with the bulls, but just getting out and doing something that gives you the willies is step one to taming the fear-response deep within.

Public speaking was once my biggest fear and I couldn’t imagine getting up in front of people to speak, ever.

Years ago, I attended a large client meeting. And to my surprise, each vendor had to stand up in front of 60 or so people and give an elevator speech.

This was a sucker punch out of left field that I wasn’t prepared for at all AND I was terrified to get up in front of a group. Public speaking was my worst fear ever.

Can you say Epic Fail? Well, it’s a day I’d like to forget, but never will, yet this humiliation moved me to action. I took on my biggest fear and made a B-line for Toastmasters. Turns out it was one of the best decisions I ever made.

The public speaking anxiety will never go away, but I learned to give that trepidation a hard drop-kick and bring the unease to its knees.?

I put the reptile in its place.

If there’s something you want to do, but it scares the hell out of you, that’s a good sign. Comfort is the enemy, my friends.

1. So, take some time to chill, observe and reframe to ease the panic.

2. Then go out and “do.” Take a few risks. Live. These are the first steps to a more rewarding and fulfilling life.

What are you most afraid of?

Have you bent fear into action?

What is your best method of dealing with dread and apprehension?