Facing FEAR
Author: Jessica Dahl
September 21, 2019
False Evidence Appearing Real.
What does that mean to you?
I have absolutely loved this acronym about fear ever since I heard it. I can remember a time when I was so afraid not that long ago. It had to do with the next season of my life. The things I knew, what I had created for years, my heart, soul, and passion and I was afraid to jump into the next season. I mean, crippled. I couldn’t sleep at night, I kept thinking I wasn’t ready, I had tons of thoughts of what people were going to think, or “what if” statements. I cried at how I was afraid & I laughed at how silly I felt being afraid. I had thoughts of, “why don’t I keep doing what I am doing? It’s not that I don’t love my life, I do, so why not stay here being comfortable?”
Have you ever been in this place before in your life? Come on, I know I can’t be the only one, please don’t leave me hanging!
First off, fear is a perceived feeling of danger. That thought goes to your brain and produces chemicals that tell your body and organs that danger is on the way. This causes a change in behavior than how you would respond if you didn’t feel a threat or danger coming. You may feel paralyzed, shut down, insecure, restless or anxious. These perceptions of fear that come up, if not recognized, can turn into a fight or flight response where it feels like you are in survival mode.
In these moments I remembered this statement of “false evidence appearing real.” I began to ask myself questions about what I was really afraid of? I knew that I wasn’t 21 anymore and the things I used to chase and the dreams I used to pursue isn't the same. I felt like I needed to be more responsible and think about my future. These were stories I was telling myself based on society and what I think I should do. I was telling myself I needed to play it safe. We as humans create stories in our heads of what is real and not real based on life experiences, what we have seen, heard or encountered. The stories we tell ourselves are very real to us because we make them real. What we put energy into is what flows into our everyday life.
This goes to show the power of creation. We have the ability to CREATE the life we want.
I don’t know about you, but something that has helped me a ton is prayer and talking with mentors I trust. Usually when we become fearful, we forget to take a deep breath and look within. We are constantly going to feel senses of fear yet it’s how we respond that makes all the difference!
Sometimes when I am feeling in a funk or fearful I know I can’t do it alone! I will call my mentors to get myself out of my own way and they will speak life into me of who they know me to be. I remember speaking with a few who kept reminding me that the next season is the next amazing step of who I am created to be.
Not to say we can’t give ourselves pep talks because believe me, I do that daily. Yet there is something about having others to uplift us when we forget ourselves.
If we allow ourselves to stay in the fight or flight response causing dysfunction, anxiety & stress we will suddenly get used to it and learn to make that our reality other than peace, grounding, and a sense of calmness internally. Recognizing that fear causes a stress response, we have to be aware of it before it takes over our lives. Our bodies are not designed to actually live under constant stress.
So I ask you this, where in your life do you feel you are allowing fear to dictate where you desire to go and who you desire to be?
I know our society will tell us to get over the fear. I definitely think most people are trying to do that constantly yet they don’t know HOW to do it. It’s hard to actually do something without the knowledge of next steps.
Because of this, I have created a simple process that allows you to go through and face your fear when it comes anyway!
I've made it easy for you with a FREE download that will get sent to your email HERE!
I would love to hear your thoughts, ideas and observations about this exercise!
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