For me, airports are sheer terror! Especially on my most recent trip back home to France. I encountered so many delays, flight cancellations, confusion in finding the right terminals, and if I chose to complain more, I would have more to share with you! This situation is one of many examples of encountering fear in our lives, and my intention today is to show you what I learned to deal with it in the most effective way possible.

Let’s start with the definition of fear, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

“A distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, pain, etc. Whether this threat is real or imagined.”

What I find very interesting about this definition is the idea that fear can be either real, such as coming face to face with a bear on your vacation to North Carolina (like it happened to a friend of mine), or imagined, like thinking that if you don’t put your face mask on in the plane (as I just saw on my flight), you could catch COVID. Focusing on becoming fearless is, to me, a waste of time because our mind (and thank God for that) is designed to warn us about danger and to move us away from it—a very useful mechanism when we are dealing with reality and not imagination.

My intention today is to share 5 easy steps to help you conquer your fears.

1st Step: Identify Your Fears: Take some time to reflect on what specifically you are afraid of. You may choose to write down your fears to get a clear understanding of what you are dealing with and to become familiar with your triggers by identifying situations that can provoke these fears.

2nd Step: Understand Your Fears: Look into your life to determine the root causes of your fears. Determine whether they are based on past experiences, irrational thoughts, or potential future events. It’s also very useful to consider how these fears are affecting your life and limiting your potential.

3rd Step: Make Fear Your Friend: Since we cannot escape or hide from them, and because we may feel tired of feeling victimized by them, why not change your focus and start thinking of fears as your companion on your journey? After all, fear is just warning us that we are going through changes and that it is quite normal in this unfamiliar situation to feel uncomfortable. Fear also shows us that with each new experience, we get stronger and more courageous, which gives us, in return, a sense of greater self-esteem, self-confidence, and victory.

To have fun with this concept, imagine yourself as a snake charmer from India, wearing a saffron-colored turban, sitting in a crossed-leg position, learning to tame the Cobra of fear, hypnotizing it with the intoxicating music of the Pungi, a wind instrument made of bamboo.

 4th Step: Change Your Focus: Stop focusing on being afraid and start focusing on your desired outcome. It is believed that what you focus on expands and becomes your reality. Focus on what you want to accomplish. Picture yourself in specific detail having reached your goal, feeling confident and victorious.

To have fun with this concept, imagine that you are a warrior like King Arthur or Xena the Warrior Princess, holding a sword of fearlessness, wearing an armor of white light that has the power to deflect and reject all fear and negativity.

5th Step: Be Your Inner Coach: We all tend to be critical and judgmental of ourselves. We often feel deep down that we are not good enough and secretly search for perfection, which in turn creates a lot of pressure, fear, and anxiety. What if we chose to be more loving and accepting of ourselves and decided to adopt the language of the heart, banning the "cannot"s and the "should nots” and instead embracing positive and empowering words?

To have fun with this concept, bring your arms up in the air and declare, "Victory to me, victory is mine," as you place a big smile on your face in appreciation and gratitude for this peaceful moment.

I hope you will use these 5 steps on your life path. As you already know, repetition is key to creating a successful new conditioning, and 28 days is actually the recommended time for this new victorious behavior.

« He who is not every day conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life»

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Stay tuned for your next newsletter! Vulnerability a friend or a foe.

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