Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway®

"What is stopping you from being the person you want to be and living your life the way you want to live it?"

Dr. Susan Jeffers tells us that the answer to that question is fearÂ?fear of tackling an issue with your boss, fear of getting to grips with a problem in your life.  Fear of change.  Fear of taking control...the list could go on!  Susan wrote the ground-breaking popular psychology self-help book, Feel the Fear And Do It Anyway over 20 years ago, and it continues to ride high in the bestseller charts because it showed us all, in simple terms, how to transform our anxieties into confidence, action and love.

She notes that fear seems to be an epidemic and for many of us, it holds us back from achieving great things in our lives.  Whatever your fear is, Susan's teaching will vastly improve your ability to handle any given situation Â? You Can Handle It! 

There are three levels of fears, which Susan identified.  Level one fears consist of those that happen e.g. aging, becoming disabled, retirement, being alone, dying and illness, to name just a few.  There are also those requiring action e.g. making decisions, changing a career, ending or beginning a relationship, and losing weight.  I'm sure you could add a few more of your own to this list!

Level two fears include rejection, success, failure, disapproval and loss of image.  Level two fears are more to do with inner states of mind rather than exterior situations.  They reflect your sense of self and your ability to handle this world.  Okay, now for the big one Â? the level three fear!  The biggest fear of all Â? the one that really keeps you stuck.  Wait for it, I CAN'T HANDLE IT!  That's it! Susan writes in her book that at the bottom of every one of your fears is simply the fear that you can't handle whatever life may bring you.  

Ask yourself this question, if you knew you could handle anything that came your way, what would you possibly have to fear?  The answer is: NOTHING!

Okay, so you're probably not cracking open the champagne at this revelation!  Though, this really is exciting news; what you've discovered is you can handle all of your fears without having to control anything in the outside world Â? this is a tremendous relief.  As Susan says, "All you have to do to diminish your fear is to develop more trust in your ability to handle whatever comes your way!"

Moving beyond fear for some people can be a part of their daily lives, and this is a positive experience.  To take full advantage of living a fulfilled life Susan teaches several tools that will help you on your journey. 

Using power vocabulary is one of them.  Let me give you an example, 'I can't' will become 'I won't'; 'I should' will become 'I could'; 'It's terrible' will become 'It's a learning experience'.  'I can't' implies you have no control over your life, whereas 'I won't' gives you the choice.  Take 'I can't' out of your favourite response list today!  Remember your subconscious only believes what it hears, and not what is true.

There are many other tools that will help you overcome your fears, and today you've learnt your first lesson Â? Feel the Fear And Do It Anyway!

Andy Garland

Founder of YOU...bethebestyoucan©

and authorised Trainer of Dr. Susan Jeffers workshops

www.you.uk.com

Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway® is the registered trade mark of Susan Jeffers, Ph.D. and is used with her permission.

Author: Andy Garland
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