MaXIMIze - Working Through Fear

Last week we discussed working on your swing - developing your follow-through. This week, we tackle one of the biggest obstacles to following through and achieving your goals - Fear!

"We have nothing to fear but fear itself." ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

What is your greatest fear? Specifically, what fear or fears hold you back from achieving your goals and living your best life now?

What is fear really? Physically, the manifestation of fear is the same as that of excitement - racing heart, sweaty palms, adrenaline rush. Psychologically though, the two are quite different.

Where excitement is gleeful, joyful anticipation of an event or an activity - a very positive emotion - fear is the exact opposite, usually fueled by that nasty little creature known as the Inner Critic.

Where excitement vitalizes, fear paralyzes.

So how then do we move through fear?

"Do one thing everyday that scares you." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

We move through fear by acknowledging it. We bring our fear out into the light and shake hands with it. Light diminishes darkness, and fear is part of the darkness that we need to shine our light on in order to achieve our goals and live our best life now.

We identify where the fear is coming from. We talk to the fear and get it to tell us its roots - how it came to be. For example, we may have a fear of never being good enough that is deeply rooted in our growing up years.

We develop a plan to refocus when fear appears and tries to derail us from our goals. For example, we make a list of all the things that we have accomplished and been praised for and/or just know deep down that we did really well.

Then, when fear does appear - and it will, trust me - we work the plan and refocus on achieving our goals. For example, when that fear of not being good enough rears its ugly head, we can go back to our list of what we have accomplished and done really well and bolster ourselves with those accomplishments. If we did those things, we can achieve these goals too!

So, to move through our fear, we acknowledge it, we identify it and its roots, we develop a plan to refocus if and when it appears, and when fear does appear, we work that plan.

Next week, we will discuss Spring Cleaning - getting rid of that which no longer serves us.

Until then, namaste!