5 Ways to Obliterate Fear and Get What You Want

5 Ways to Obliterate Fear and Get What You Want

Have you ever really wanted to do something, but talked yourself out of it out of fear? Fear of the unknown, fear of change, fear of looking like a fool, fear of insert-your-reason-here?

If you read through the Ebook preview at the end of my last post, then you know about limiting beliefs. These are beliefs that we have picked up throughout our lives, from our parents, friends, and general environments. Some of them are good, like a parent telling you that you can do anything your mind can conceive of. But some of them are bad, like a bully telling you you aren’t pretty enough, good enough, or even loveable.

Unfortunately, though the good beliefs stay with us, our brains are hardwired to put more emphasis on the negative ones. Think about it. Are you more likely to remember something good someone said about you, or something bad they said about you? If you’re like most people, the latter is true. And those negative beliefs burrow their way into our subconscious, wreaking havoc on our decisions quietly and unassumingly in the background.

Unless, of course, we can reshape the belief. The first step, though, is awareness.

As much as I hate to admit it, I struggle with fear. Most of the time, thankfully, my courage outweighs my fear, and I go after the things that I want, but sometimes I wish it wasn’t such a slog to get there. And I wish my brain would shut up already (it taunts me with things like, “what makes you so special? You’re not smart enough. There’s no way you could ever achieve that goal. You’re crazy!” It’s very obnoxious. And it’s very hard not to believe the things that it tells me.).

A few weeks ago, I caught an episode on Marie Forleo’s site about this very topic. If you don’t know Marie, she is a crazy funny, business strategist and marketing maven who hosts her own web TV show called Marie TV every week. Her mission is to help people realize their greatest potential and use their unique talents to change the world. Through both her weekly TV episodes and her online program called B-School, she is living her mission every day, courageously acting in the face of fear.

The episode I watched a few weeks ago was called How to Reprogram Your Subconscious Mind to get What You Want. Marie interviewed Dr. Cathy Collautt, a metaphysician and manifesting consultant who I actually had the opportunity to hear speak at my last nutrition conference in New York.

I highly recommend you check out the video, but in the meantime, here are the cliff notes:

In order to reprogram your subconscious mind to blast through your fears and get rid of the limiting beliefs that don’t serve you, you can follow these 5 steps:

STEP 1: Be humble.

Don’t assume that you know everything there is to know about the resistance (AKA the fear). Trust the subconscious long enough to learn from it. Listen to the wisdom you can find in your resistance.

So essentially – explore the fear. What is your subconscious mind trying to tell you about it? If, for example, you’re trying to start your own business, is the mind trying to tell you not to because your only experience with entrepreneurship was suffering and pain? Perhaps you tried to start a business when you were younger and you ended up broke and laughed at. If that is the case, it would stand to reason that your subconscious mind wouldn’t want you to go down that path again.

STEP 2: Get specific.

What exactly is it that the subconscious is looking out for? What are the exact fears? Let your subconscious make its case. There is priceless information in there. For example, it’s not enough to know that you are afraid of starting your own business. Go deeper: What freedoms in particular does your subconscious mind think you will have to sacrifice? Money? Time? Family? Putting you in a position where you have to be an expert and you’re afraid that you don’t know enough? Fear of having to work 16 hours a day without getting a paycheck for the first few years, knowing that will cause hardship in your relationship because of lack of time and money?

Get really specific with what exactly your fear is.

STEP 3: Make a promise.

Set the intention to work it out with your subconscious, not to work against it. This is how to make fear a non issue. Tell your subconscious, “I hear you, I understand what you’re saying and I appreciate you looking out for me.” Then make your promise: “If starting my own business means I will be broke, unhappy, and have no family, I promise I won’t do it. I will only do it if I don’t have to sacrifice those things.” The mere act of making this promise to your subconscious honors what is truly important to you.

STEP 4: Get examples.

Now it’s time to douse the subconscious with positive examples of case studies relating to your fear. So, if the fear is starting your own business, find as many examples as you can of friends, family, and even strangers who have started their own business and not had to sacrifice the things you’re subconscious is afraid of having to sacrifice. You’re essentially arguing your case as a lawyer might with your subconscious. And since the subconscious will do anything that you tell it is possible, this is a very important step.

STEP 5: Solidify and affirm.

Finally, pick a positive affirmation that works for you. For example, to continue with our example of starting your own business, you might say, “I can have my own business while still maintaining my relationship.” Or, “I can have my own successful business while simultaneously experiencing financial freedom.” Or, “Success increases my freedom in life.”

Whatever affirmation you choose, repeat it as often as feels good. If nothing else, some great times to repeat your affirmation are before you go to bed, when you wake up in the morning, and before and after meditation.

 

That’s it! That’s how to reprogram the subconscious mind to get what you want. As Dr. Collautt says, this method promotes gentle introspection vs. just pushing through. And let’s face it: most of us are taught to push through the fear. But if we just slow down, and get real with what our fear is trying to tell us, then we might just be able to do away with that fear for good.

Capitalize on the wisdom that exists within you, and fear will never stop you.

Wishing you all the success you have ever dreamed of. It’s yours, if you want it to be.

Love, love, love,

Lauren
xxx

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Photo credit: Eva Marie Pursley