There is no such thing as fear!”

Published Plain and Straight Newsletter - October 2007

Right now you may be thinking, “How can he say that? Of course there is fear, I feel it all the time.” Here is what I have learned over the years and the few simple steps I use to overcome all of my fears. Fear in itself is not real. Can you hold it? Can you see it? You can’t even smell it? It can only be felt. It’s an EMOTION. Fear creeps into my conscious mind when I project into the future in a negative way. If I am projecting positively, there is NO fear associated with the same event. Franklin Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” Here are the steps that I use to overcome this crippling emotion. Ponder these 3 questions. Take some time with each:
· Am I a negative person?
· Could most of my fears be of my own making?
· Can I create a fear by thinking of the future in a bad way?
Fear, although it does take place in the present moment, can be controlled or eliminated by changing the way I think in that present moment. If you’re willing to change your thinking patterns, you to can eliminate fear from your life forever. In the beginning you will have to practice but over time it becomes automatic. Here is the simple 3-step process that I use to eliminate fear from my life:

1. When I am fearful over some event, I stop, and look at how I am projecting into the future
negatively.

2. I then ground myself in the present moment. I do this by asking the question, “is this real
or am I imagining it? Where is this fear actually taking place?” Fear always takes place in
MY mind and is always imagined. Fear does not take place outside of my own continuous.

3. Finally I must ask, “What positive result could come out of this situation?” and think about
that outcome? I must keep practicing number three, over and over until it becomes my
normal pattern of thinking instead of the old negative reaction.

Here is an example of how I used this method in 2004 when hurricane Charley was bearing down on Tampa Bay: The weather models were showing 20 colored lines with the storms path directly up the mouth of Tampa Bay. Only 1 of the models had the storm turning south. My first reaction was PANIC, then FEAR, and finally after practicing the 1-2-3 above, I transformed the fear into some degree of serenity, and peace. I concentrated on the one line instead of the 20. I refused to buy into the idea Charlie was coming here. I even talked about it with some of my friends and they said I was crazy. Well, we all know what happened. The storm took a sudden change in course, which was not seen by the experts. Punta Gorda was not so lucky. The people suffered greatly but I realized by staying in the present moment and remaining positive all things are possible inside MY world. Most of my friends wasted the entire week fearing what MIGHT happen. I on the other hand because I was thinking differently, had a wonderful week. Did God listen to me instead of the people further south? Of course not, but in my little world, inside my consciousness, there was peace. I wasn’t looking for someone else to suffer, just not me. I can go on and on how this formula has helped me overcome many of my fears. Try it, and when you see this working in your life, like me, you may say; “I do not fear anything, today”.

by John L, Citrus County Florida