By Vanessa Ugatti

Fear is a vital reaction, whenever we are confronted with a potentially life-threatening situation.  In this instance, it is essential for our self-preservation.  But what about fear in non-life threatening circumstances?  Such fear can paralyse you, hold you back and prevent you from moving forward but it can most definitely be turned to your advantage.  My aim in this article is to demonstrate how to turn fear into a trigger to take action.

The first time I ever spoke in public was when I gave a talk on fear in front of about 25 people.  My initial reaction at the thought of having to do this, was one of alarm and a desire to run and hide.  At the same time, I also experienced a number of physiological changes in my body, associated with fear.  Increased heart rate and blood pressure, more rapid and deeper breathing, butterflies in the stomach and an overall feeling of disquiet. This alarm reaction is automatic and quite natural when we are confronted with danger, either real or perceived.  (In this case, perceived, as there was no actual physical threat being made.)  However, the alarm reaction still takes place because the subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between what is real and what is vividly imagined. (Let me repeat the last sentence.  The alarm reaction still takes place because the subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between what is real and what is vividly imagined.)  Through a complex series of bodily changes, affecting mainly the blood flow and sugar levels, we are able to produce much more energy, thus enabling us either to attack the alarming stimulus or run away from it - this is known as the Fight or Flight Response. 

However, in today's society, this alarm reaction is very often unnecessary or inappropriate, as we rarely have any need to react physically. Such is the case every time we are confronted with a situation which we have not met before (fear of the unknown) and in particular when it requires us to do something we have not done before.  It is in such situations that fear is strongly linked to our imagination and our own belief system about whether or not we can do such and such a thing.  In this instance, fear becomes synonymous with self-doubt.  Very often our fear of failure or looking stupid will prevent us from doing many things and yet this has absolutely nothing to do with our ability to do it.   I.e. we have the ability to do things.  However, we think we don't and what we think is our reality.

To highlight the absurdity of how our minds can work, did you know that, in a number of surveys, it has been discovered that a high percentage of people are more frightened of public speaking than they are of death?  So they would rather die than stand up in public and speak!   If we listen to the fear, we become paralysed and will be stuck with the fear of that particular activity forever more - a very uncomfortable situation to be in.  (Negative)  If, however, we acknowledge and accept the fear as being perfectly normal, even welcome it with open arms and understand that all humans have similar feelings when tackling something new, only then will we be able to overcome it.  Then we will be well and truly on the road to personal growth.  When we do the very thing we are afraid of doing, and usually we need to do it more than once, only then will the fear disappear of that particular activity.  The result is that we expand our comfort zone which helps us feel good about ourselves and also enables us to tackle the next new thing that comes along with more confidence, although we will still experience the fear.  Like everything we do, the more we practise, the easier it becomes. 

To change my perception of the word FEAR, I like to remind myself often what it stands for: FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL - in other words, it's just my imagination.  Fear is powerful and yet it does not have to be in a negative way; you can change it into a positive and channel the energy it produces to good use.  When giving a talk on this subject some time ago, a member of the audience came up afterwards and gave me another definition of fear which is:  FULL-ON EXQUISITE ADRENALINE RUSH.  This is an extremely positive way to experience the energy created when the fight or flight response kicks off.  In this way, we can see the "fear" energy as exciting rather than frightening.

Like many people, I do not like spiders, although I would not say I suffer from arachnophobia.  So when I was asked if I would like to be photographed holding a tarantula, I couldn't begin to imagine myself doing it.  But then I thought, oh what the heck, go for it anyway and I did.  The result was that after the event, I was able, for the first time in my life, to pick up a house spider, albeit a small one, in my bare hands and throw it out without experiencing any adverse reaction.  I believe that as a direct result of this small victory, I was also able, a couple of months later, to abseil down a 100' water tower which was an exhilarating experience, especially as I had been afraid of heights from about the age of 10.  Although these acts in themselves are of no real importance, they are in the sense that, as a result, I have changed my perception of who I am.  Now, rather than seeing fear as my enemy, I see it in a completely different light.  It is a trigger for me to take action.

In summary, when you experience FEAR:

1.  Acknowledge and accept the fear.

2. Know that it is perfectly normal when you wish to tackle something new.

3. Remind yourself what it stands for False Evidence Appearing Real - i.e. it's just your imagination or Full-On Exquisite Adrenaline Rush.

4. Turn fear from paralysis into a trigger to take action by doing the thing you want to do, despite the fear.

5. Remember the fear will not go away until you do the very thing you are afraid of!

6. Feel good for having done it - and watch your comfort zone expand!