How to COnquer Your Fears » Higher Level Living

A simple trick!

Do you know that Julia Roberts was afraid of public speaking and Walt Disney was afraid of mice?

Wild right!?

Truly magical things can happen when you lean into your fears! The things you fear are usually the things you should do because on the other side of fear lies your greatest opportunity for growth.

But knowing this doesn’t necessarily make the things you fear any easier to do. 😉

Here is a little trick that will help you lean into and conquer your fears

Fear is a physical reaction in your body. As soon as you start to think “oh no this scares me”, it triggers reactions in your body. Your heart starts to race, maybe you get sweaty palms, and your nervous system sends you into fight or flight mode.

But do you know that your body reacts the same way to fear as it does to excitement?

The only difference is you breathe when you’re excited and you hold your breath when you’re afraid.

Either you’re so focused on the fear that you forget to breathe normally or you freeze up altogether. In doing this you trigger your nervous system in a negative way.

And what do people tell you to do when they know you’re afraid?!

I’m guessing they tell you to just breathe. 😉

Which is a remedy! But there’s a little more to it…

The secret is body awareness.

Your body actually notices fear before your mind does. You have a window of time that you can get ahead of fear before your mind realizes what is happening if you pay attention to your body. And if you catch it early enough, you can take control of your fear.

Steps to control your fear:

Pay attention to how your body reacts to fear. What happens or changes in your body first? Is it the heart rate, a flushed face, do you clench your fists, twirl your hair? There is something you do almost instinctively before the fear takes over and travels to your mind.
Once you identify your first trigger, use that as your sign moving forward. That is the moment to take control, it is your trigger to breathe.
As soon as you notice that sign – slow down, breathe, count to 90 and tell yourself/think something that makes you think you’re excited. It could be as simple as telling yourself “I’m excited” or using a mantra-like I’m gonna rock this… but take control of your mind by breathing and telling yourself how you feel. Harvard studies have proven that in this 90-second window you can take control of your nervous system and control the reaction to fear.
Take continuous action – The more you do the things you fear, the more confidence you build in those areas, and the less you fear the.

So the next time you find yourself getting nervous or fearful about doing something that you know you should do – remind yourself that your greatest growth lies on the other side of that fear, tell yourself you’re excited and BREATHE.

Here’s to leaning in to level up,

Xo Nicole