We are living in unprecedented times having to deal with COVID 19, the global pandemic which is impacting every single one of us and that in itself strikes fear into people’s hearts.

The fact is we don’t know how long the virus will exert its power over us (if we choose to allow it to do so) or whether we or our loved ones will remain well and when our lives will return to some sort of normality.

So what can we control? Well, as Victor Frankl the renowned psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor said in his classic book ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’:

“Between stimulus and response there is a space.  In that space is our freedom to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

In the midst of horror all around him, Victor Frankl survived by not focusing on himself, but instead choosing to help others, and living in the moment to the best of his ability, despite the terror and grief all around him.

For those of you who have tried mindfulness, you’ll know that it teaches us acceptance, when we don’t have the ability to change a situation. It is so much better for one’s mental health to accept a situation then in a sense you can move forward and not remain paralysed by fear. We all have a natural tendency to catastrophise, dwell on the worst case scenarios, none of which is helpful and can increase feelings of fear and sadness.  

The oldest part of our brain, sometimes known as the reptilian part of the brain is hardwired to scan for threats, resulting in a negativity bias which is more than ‘glass half full’ or ‘glass half empty’,

Meditation practices, getting out in nature, gratitude, helping others are all tools that we can use to decrease this negativity bias and make us more positive and less fearful.

A helpful definition of FEAR is:

False Evidence Appearing Real

We see the world the way we feel, not as it is.  These feelings are different for all of us, influenced by the lives, loves, disappointments, successes we have had up until this moment in time.  We all have different lenses of perception and our feelings are not always an accurate reflection of how things really are.

In everyday life if you find yourself held back by fear, resulting in procrastination and a loss of confidence and self-belief, taking positive actions towards your goals will help alleviate this.

In a sense you must fake it till you make it. Your sub-conscious mind is always listening out for your thoughts and it is non-judgemental. If you are running the story of how scared you are, what a failure you feel etc, it will work hard to keep you in that state. 

Give your brain better thoughts and it will reward you by supporting you in your endeavours.

Think of the placebo effect; pharmaceutical companies run drug trials with placebos, and often the patients have similar benefits to those taking the drug, simply because their minds believe it to be the case — they are expecting good results. There is something really important to learn from the placebo effect.  We do have the power to create better results in our lives by moving forward and past the threat.

Everyone feels afraid from time to time, but it’s the fear of not achieving your greatness which is worse. I’m sure you’ve often heard famous and successful people say they are always afraid before they go out on stage for instance, sometimes throwing up with fear and nerves but that feeling changes to excitement and elation when they are in their flow. It’s exactly the same for you and I when we feel as though we are being the best version of ourselves and giving life 100%.

Lastly consider the rocking chair test; when you are old and grey and your days are numbered, will you be able to say you gave life 100% and look back on wonderful memories or will you be full of regret that you have run out of time and never did what you really wanted to do with your life?

Feel the Fear and DO IT ANYWAY!