Fear Is the Energy to Do Your Best in a New Situation

Think about entering a new situation. To meet that situation, imagine that you received an extra burst of energy, your senses sharpened, and there was a tingling - an excitement — in your body, and you became more sensitive and aware.

Doesn't that sound great? The very thing we need to do our best in a new situation! Well, it's precisely what does happen each time we enter a new situation. Most of the time, however, we call it "fear" and we don't like it.

Contrary, to popular belief our parents didn't teach us to feel fear. Our parents did teach us to use fear as a reason not to do something. As we explained earlier, they did this from love. Children cannot logically determine if their physical well-being is or is not endangered when attempting each new activity.

Unfortunately, at eighteen - or - so when we do know the difference between that which is truly dangerous and that which is merely new and untried, no one draws us aside and says, "That fear you've been using as a reason not to do things — it's really part of the energy to get things done."

The first thing we need when entering a new situation (be it physically, or in our imagination) is more energy. A new situation, by definition, will be different, and extra energy will help us meet the challenges of whatever "different" may offer.

When we feel fear, our body releases into the bloodstream adrenaline, glucose and other energy-producing chemicals. This physical energy is available to support our thoughts and actions.

In a new situation, naturally we want all the information we can get. This is when the sharpened senses, sensitivity and heightened awareness associated with fear are useful — they help us absorb and more quickly process the new information.

Another aspect of fear is letting go of irrelevancies. We automatically focus on what's most important, "and let the rest of the world go by." When in a new situation, we want to focus 911 what's in front of us, what's central, what's significant. Fear drives thoughts about whether the grapefruit will be on sale or not right out of our awareness.

Part of doing our best in a new situation involves learning. There is so much to learn from a new experience — so much to learn about the experience and, more importantly, so much to learn about ourselves. Fear provides a good environment for learning — not an ideal environment (fear is not known for its abundance of patience) - but a good environment nonetheless. The energy, clarity of mind and ability to focus are excellent tools for learning.

Ultimately, we'll automatically know and use fear as the energy to do our best. In the interim - as we break the habit of thinking of this energy as a reason not to do anything new — the suggestion is: feel the fear and do it anyway.

Once you know something is not physically dangerous, go ahead and do the thing. It may feel uncomfortable (count on it), but keep moving one step after another in the direction of doing it. As you move — as you use it — the energy will transform itself from barrier to blessing. You'll have energy, not limitation.

This process of feeling the fear and doing it anyway reprograms our attitude from, "Fear means, 'Don't'" to "Fear means, 'All systems go!'"

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