How to Manage Fear and Anxiety

What has fear caused you? 

Fear and anxiety are always with us. They are our constant companions, our constant reminder. They are always with us on our life's journey. But how do you manage them? How do you manage your fear and anxiety?

Fear and anxiety are actually normal. You may have fears around money or business, you may have fears around relationships, you may have fears around public speaking, or you may have fears and worries for the things to come. Then again, remember that fear is something that is natural in all of us. 

As I’ve mentioned, fear and anxiety accompanies us almost everyday and almost at every moment of our life. But fear can stop you. It can stop you from reaching your dreams and from fulfilling your passion. Fear can paralyze you, and when this happens you lose your power. You lose your power over your possibilities, you lose power over your future. 

This is when you need to change your relationship with fear. This is when you need to prevent your fear from overpowering you. 

When fear consumes you, stops you, and makes you lose your strength and power, this is the moment you need to change something. This is the moment you need to change your relationship with fear. 

You may have the impression that fear is a bad thing. But what if I told you that fear is not bad nor is it good. 

Fear is an emotion. It is a belief that either gives you power or takes it away. It is a friend that is feeding you information. It is a friend that is telling you something important. Fear is like your messenger giving you information that you should not ignore and that you should listen to. 

Why do I know this? Because I’ve been there. I had and still have fears of my own. 10 years ago I was afraid of letting others hear my voice. I had fears around public speaking. I was afraid of being judged, being criticized, and being disappointed. I was afraid that no one would listen when I speak. I was afraid of failure. I really had a long list of fears. 

But now, I no longer fear fear. I have realized that fear was actually a friend, my friend. Fear is a friend that is feeding me information. A friend that is telling me that I need to learn more, I need to understand more, I need to improve. There were also times when fear was telling me that I need to slow down, or that sometimes I need to speed up. Fear is telling me what I need to know. It was like a warning device. 

What do we do when fear strikes? 

When fear strikes, what you need to do is to keep telling yourself stories. Speak up and speak out. Let your voice be heard. Let your stories be heard. 

You have the strength and capacity to overpower your fear by using your own voice. Speak and share your stories. Share and inspire. Inspire those who just like you are being surrounded by fears. Share, inspire, empower.

What are your stories around fear? What stories do you tell yourself? Write down your fears and make a list. After making the list, work on them. Change your stories. Change your stories into something more empowering. Change it into something empowering for you.