How to Work Through Fears
There’s really only one way.
Step 1: Recognize what you’re truly afraid of. Step 2: Feel the fear and do it anyway.
There’s conscious fear: for instance, “I’m afraid I won’t find clients.” In this case, I look for information and solutions on how to find clients, and I move in that direction, going deeper and further.
Then there’s unconscious fear—this is when I have a desire to achieve something, but no matter what I do, it doesn’t work out. I might even have “rational” explanations for this, generated by my psychological defenses. I think I’m making decisions to reach my goal, but these decisions either lead to inactivity or create an illusion of action, keeping me stuck.
As long as fear remains unconscious, it controls you!
This influence can show up not only in your thoughts but in your actions too. For example, I really want to attend an important meeting, but then I get in a car accident and miss it. Somehow, I’m either attracting or unconsciously creating circumstances that prevent me from going where I claim to want to go. Some people even get sick for this reason, or lose documents, break legs, get locked in elevators, and so on.
Conscious Fear
The principle here is: “The dog barks, but the caravan moves on,” or “Feel the fear and do it anyway.” Only through taking action does conscious fear weaken, because the energy goes into movement.
Many people make the huge mistake of thinking that some kind of therapy, training, hypnosis, or other technique will “eliminate” fear, making it possible to act without hesitation or doubt.
There’s no worse thought. This belief is like searching for a magic pill or waiting for Santa Claus to save you. This mindset can hide behind the idea of “self-improvement”: looking for the perfect expert, researching procrastination, watching experts on YouTube, gathering every angle—only for “someday…”
Fear can’t be cut out of you! Sometimes people can work through deep fears in one-on-one therapy, but it requires many specific factors to align. It’s unrealistic to rely on this alone.
Fear only dissipates in the process of action!