Unstoppable in the Face of Fear
2 min read
What lies on the other side of fear, in the below video, is pure bliss. It’s a roller coaster of emotions that wouldn’t be felt if you didn’t have the courage to step outside of your comfort zone.
It's me on any given day in this wild ride of life with the full spectrum of emotions and thoughts that go with it.
I can’t do this.
I have no clue.
What if it all goes to Sh*t.
It could be great.
But it feels yucky.
I hate not being certain.
What will others think…what will I think.
This feels amazing.
This isn’t so bad.
I did it.
This was epic!!!
(make sure to turn the sound on)
This is how we process the emotions that go with making just one decision. This is how we move from fear to courage.
I read that you experience an emotion for 90 seconds, and then the thoughts take over. The thoughts about what that emotion means….about us.
You may feel fear, anxiety, and nervousness and 90 seconds later you move to thoughts of what that fear, anxiety, and nervousness say about you.
Redefining the emotion as a judgment.
“I am not good enough, I suck, I’m not cut out for this.”
Now, let’s think about thoughts that come from the emotion of courageousness.
“That was amazing, I did it, that felt awesome, I’m proud of myself.”
We should not be afraid to feel emotions, both good and bad. That’s life.
But becoming aware of how we translate emotions into thoughts is powerful. Maybe even the gateway to a more joyful life.
I went to an in-person conference last week that took me out of my comfort zone and required calling up some personal courage. Just like the boy in the video, I felt the full spectrum of emotions. With those emotions came the negative thoughts I created about what those feelings meant about me.
I then intentionally chose to focus on feeling courageous versus the emotions that were giving me drama and lies about myself. It was a transformational week that I wouldn't have experienced had I let the fear mean something about me. That was simply the fear talking.
Negative emotions do not mean anything about you. Here's the emotion I choose instead of fear: Unstoppable in the face of fear.
Now that’s a thought I want to hang on to (much like when I went zip lining)