“The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe.” – Albert Einstein
Fear isn’t just an uncomfortable emotion that holds you back from following your dreams; it can also trigger a stress response in the body that increases your risk of disease and makes it hard for your body to heal itself.
Fear causes an immediate gut-instinct leading your mind to make a series of predictions about what might happen next. This kind of thinking doesn’t solve problems, it creates more.
Your mind will begin to linger on the worst case scenarios. With too much time to think and your ability to make accurate predictions gone, your mind will be side-tracked and get caught up in endless negative trains of thought. It is easy to succumb to fear when faced with uncertainty and unpredictability.
You need to take back control of your thoughts and your fears will slowly disappear.
Here’s how you can begin to control your fears in order to live a more balanced life?
- Stop for a moment.
- Take a long, deep breath in and out. In your mind say “in” as you breathe in and “out” as you breathe out. This helps you to ground yourself in the present.
- Feel the ground beneath your feet. Notice the way your clothes feel against your skin, the wind against your face, the sun on your cheeks. Listen to the birds singing, the rain falling around you, or the ticking of a nearby clock.
All of the things you notice will help ground you in the present. Even if your thoughts want to drag you away with them, coming back to recognize your breathing will give you the control you need to prevent yourself from losing focus.
The point of this exercise is to give you a chance to sit back and look at your thoughts and fears. Once you do this, you’ll have begun the process of taking back control of your mind and your life. At this point you can already begin to see how ready you are to implement meditation in your daily routine.
Meditation is a well-studied and scientifically proven way to reduce fear, improve your health, boost your courage, and decrease your stress.
Diet and Exercise
Drink and food choices can trigger anxiety symptoms. Eating nutrient-deficient foods, not getting enough carbohydrates, protein, or fat in your diet, or not eating enough can fluctuate your blood sugar levels, triggering anxiety.
Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to be quite helpful in treating depression and anxiety.
Believe in better! We should not let fear rule us. We need to push on through and let the world see who we really are; at individual and collective levels.
When you believe that the universe is hostile, life seems much more scary than it really is. However, if you can learn to trust that you are held, loved, safe, nurtured, and protected, then you can begin to relax.
