8 Habits to Combat the Fear Monster “Anxiety”
Feeding The Fear Monster
Are you reading headlines like this one, with the great big “fear” word in it?
The truth is simply fear based media sells! That is why it is being used so much in media and why I used it to get your attention. We unconsciously and consciously want to know more about the beast that has such a hold on us. We recognize it and so we read on, and stay tuned.
Notice if unconsciously you react to this headline and if you automatically recognize the feeling, and consciously kicks in curiosity, as to how we give fear so much rein and want to read more about this emotion that has so much power over us.
The point is to notice. Notice how you monitor and filter the fear triggers throughout the day. Maybe you can notice if you let it run-a-muck in your mind or if you give it boundaries and keep control of it.
It is just food for thought, to notice what you are allowing into your conscious and unconscious mind every day. Fear can creep into your life and stay there and nest, if you don’t regulate what you allow yourself to focus on. The negative or the positive.
If there is only one thing you get from this message I am writing, is to understand this simply; ‘anxiety is just fear of the future. That’s right, it hasn’t even happened yet”.
Could it be a simple choice?
A Focused Mind or Anxiety
To understanding how to have a healthy focused mind is powerful and simple. The fact is that you can create anything we want; it is just a fact of what you choose to focus on. We can make the fear bigger by reacting to the triggers and have a fear of the future which is commonly known as anxiety, or find a solution for the fear and focus on what we want. So stay focused and I will share with you more simple and practical ways to combat the fear monster.
However, before I do it is interesting to note that as humans, we tend to like tdiseases-ease, (being the mind/body being out of ease). We love to name it and take ownership for it, with dialog such as “oh, I have anxiety”. Just as if we own a house or a car, so we nurture the fact that we own it, by the way we generally accept it into our lives as a permanent thing, and feel are powerless to it.
Every time you say I have anxiety or I am feeling anxious, you are giving up your power, therefore your nurturing the fear, feeding it, making it bigger and fatter, giving it more control.
I am not talking about being overly positive and glazing over the issue of anxiety being epidemic in our communities. It simply comes down to how we respond and the message we choose to project on to the world around us. What if, you could choose to respond holding the intention of love and light.
Anxiety is your unconscious mind wanting to remind you that you’re not focusing on what you want…
If anxiety is your unconscious mind wanting to remind you that you’re not focusing on what you want, then it is time to create a new focus toward what you want. By staying in the anxiety, you are expressing how exceptionally good you are at focusing on what you DON’T want. Hence the fear of the future dialog that runs rampant in the mind becomes a habit, a belief and a learned behavior.
8 Ways to Combat Anxiety & Practice Mindfulness
Awareness of the auto pilot reactions & practice non-judgment of self and others. Try it for just a day and notice the internal chatter that goes on. The practice of non-judgment (for self-first and then others) is great to do once a week.
Set a daily focus for each day and come back to it as a daily mantra always coming from self-first E.g Acceptance of self and others, inspiration, etc. This is a powerful practice that allows you to focus on something that you want, not what you don’t want. It is taking responsibly for how you live in the moment.
Use your imagination and imagine a good outcome for what you are anxious about in the future. With the knowledge you have now, that fear is an illusion that we create and anxiety is in the future, it has not happened yet. Have a giggle at yourself for being so creative whenever you feel anxiety and direct your mind to the outcome you desire instead.
The simple practice of breathing to focus and quiet the chatter of the mind (what I call the naughty child that begs for some attention and boundaries) is to let go of expectations of self and others. Just focusing on breath as you would be mindful of who you invite into your house.
Do not buy into fear based propaganda, just observe it with non-attachment. A good way to control fear is to not buy into it, just observe the information that is fed to you from your environment and make your intention to practice, practice, practice and continue to practice mindfulness.
Drink water and energized water. Hydration is important for keeping your chemical balanAce in the mind body it’s a second basic survival skill. Our body’s rely on oxygen and water in one of the ways we feed oxygen into the blood.
Connect with the earth. Go to a park slip off your shoes at lunch time or walk on the beach and feel connection with the earth once a day. This is a also a good time to observe the breath. When we build a house we earth the house, so we need to do the same for our bodies. A we walk around in shoes all day we create a lot of static electricity which creates a busy head. The earth connection brings us a connection to FREE wireless, natural negative ions that take us out of the head an neutralizes the body.
Focus on what you want. Take control and be aware of your own thought processes and the words you say out loud, are they toward what you want or away from what you want. E.g “I can do that” or “there is no way I could do that” notice how we always have a choice, even when we feel we don’t.
By doing these simple things, your giving your mind body new direction towards creating new habits to focus on and take control and being your own self healer. Being responsible for your mind body dis-ease is to own your personal power and bring equilibrium to the overall mind body connection. To combat anxiety is to contend against the auto response, the learned reaction. This all takes time, patients and practice, so be kind to yourself while you do.
Think About Your Own Filters
Why, I ask these questions is to get you thinking about your own filters and how you are responding to the world. Are you responding as a victim (I call it the poor bugger me syndrome!) or are you choosing to take control and be responsible for how you present to the world around you?
Your Not Alone
Join us on our live workshops around Australia or interactive online coaching programs. And maybe by just noticing that fear is just something we create and propagate and that it is just an illusion, then you can change it with the only true emotion that is Love.