Nurturing Fearlessness

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Do you feel your life would be a lot more interesting and rewarding if you could just be a little more fearless? Or that staying in your comfort zone is limiting your life?

Try these tips to nurture your courage and confidence:

1. Don’t over-focus on what others will think of you. Being mindful of the positive impact on others is important. Over-indexing frequently on the thoughts others might have of us is another story. Remember that your self-worth should not be rooted in external affirmation. Feel confident in knowing that you are of value regardless of what others think and go out into the world with courage.

2. Gain perspective. When feeling nervous about a situation, stop to think about why you feel nervous – does your imagination take you to fanciful places – can you discount the outcomes that make you nervous and feel confident going forward?

3. Start small. The key to managing big fears practice by dealing with the smaller ones. Learning to manage your smaller fears will help your patterns of thought and action. Building your skills and confidence while overcoming smaller fears will give you the ability to manage the larger ones.

4. Relax. A great way to overcome a fear reaction is to use relaxation techniques. You can train yourself to automatically relax when you first feel fear by practicing relaxation and mindfulness techniques. Start with smaller fears and concerns to build your capacity to manage larger ones.

5. Look at the odds. Take a moment to think about how many of your fears actually come true. Some studies suggest only about 20% of our fears come true. That means there’s an 80% chance your fears won’t come true. Take comfort and strength from realizing that there’s only a 20% chance your fear will even happen.

6. Realize that you are the source of your fear. You might be afraid of snakes, but your friend isn’t. You might be afraid of heights, but your sister finds them exhilarating. In most instances, you are the source of your fear.

7. Switch up your inner dialogue. Rather than thinking about what might go wrong, consider what might go right. Allow yourself to feel excited about the possibilities. Imagine how much more fearless your life would be if you change your approach to see possibilities instead of pitfalls.

8. View fear as a challenge. When fear arises, approach it as you would a game – what action(s) or “moves” could you take when something makes you afraid when you think about doing it? Be mindful, and of course, be smart and challenge yourself to do things that can actually improve your life.

You can live a fearless life and experience many more rewarding adventures. If you would like to explore ways to incorporate mindfulness and creative approaches to living life with a little bit more courage, our membership is a great place to start.