March 23, 2018
Blog: FEAR
One of the statements I make to my clients and to my softball team that provokes a stare or a quizzical look is that FEAR is not real. Stop looking like that, it isn’t. FEAR is something that we make up in our own mind as a response to things.
Some may question or even want to argue the point because it feels real. The pounding of the heart, knocking knees and even sweaty palms. Yes, we do have a physiological response to those things we perceive as scary. But what if we could hijack our brains to understand and embrace what we perceive as FEAR, isn’t, how would things be different?
Great athletes who perform at their best in the toughest situation do not accept FEAR as real.
The thing we FEAR is an illusion, something we invent or makeup in our own mind. Think about it, can a spider really make you afraid? It is how your mind interprets the spider that causes you to be afraid of it.
FEAR resides totally within our own brain, so the next time you face something that causes you FEAR, think about why and how you are interpreting it.
It is the mind that gives every interpretation meaning, your mind will conjure up the emotional response to the spider or the bases loaded the game on the line at-bat.
If we practice a new way of believing the way we practice any other skill, we can hijack our brains too not operate out of FEAR in those pressure situations or when we see a spider.
lashawn@rightchoicecoaching.com