The dangers of F.E.A.R.: False Evidence Appearing Real

So what is this false evidence that seems to appear real? Simple – When we’re on the verge of taking that step towards one of our goals, BOOOM! We freeze! Yup, we all do it all the time whether we recognize it or not. But I am not here to point the finger at you or me, I am here to point the finger at F.E.A.R. and give you an empowering and effective exercise that will pave the way to a powerful and productive YOU!

Let’s talk about what creates F.E.A.R. Let’s call it “Voice” for the sake of argument and a bit of humor. What voice? That same voice that just said, “What voice is this woman talking about?” This tendency of the voice is to yap and yap. We are not here to mute it, it’s literally impossible. The goal is to train it to yap in a confident and productive way.

Picture this: You’ve had a lifelong dream to own a restaurant. All of the details are worked out in your mind. What the place is going to look like, the street you want it to be on, the color scheme and even down to the menu items. Then the Voice starts yapping. Voice: Don’t do it. I don’t have enough money. It’s not going to work. Remember the last time I tried and failed miserably. People won’t like the food. Even worse, what if people don’t like the restaurant?! Chaos and anxiety ensures. And on and on and on.

Guess what just happened? F.E.A.R. got the best of you. The conditioned voice created these ridiculous, false and premature stories of worthlessness and failure. How do we know they are false stories? You haven’t even moved a finger to make this dream materialize yet the voice dragged the past actions, inactions and the future what ifs into the now. Causing complete and utter self-sabotage.

The domino effect has begun. We quickly begin to create justification for everything we have not accomplished. Externalizing F.E.A.R. based stories into crutches that somehow we hope validate to others and ourselves why we have not embodied this successful and powerful being we are all meant to be. It is at its core the absence of ownership and integrity. Like the moment you realize how unhappy you are at your job. We begin by blaming the boss, coworkers, room temperature and even the coffee machine for our misery. You might be laughing but it’s true!

What we are really doing is leaning on the crutches generated by F.E.A.R. that create paralyzing complaint after complaint on why everything and everybody makes us miserable. 
But when questioned why we have not looked for another job we again succumb to F.E.A.R. by crutching on the excuse ‘I really do like my coworkers. And to start all over again, well I don’t know”. An endless F.E.A.R. based cycle. All avoidable if we only practiced ownership and integrity by switching jobs and putting a lid on the complaining.

What is different to us, from us, and challenges us will create the illusion of fear. Hence, the inability to break away from F.EA.R. This is a basic human function brought on by centuries of human conditioning. 

In layman terms: People dating back to 6th century BC were conditioned to believe the earth was square, that a ship with all its seamen would fall into an endless abyss once they reached as far as the eye could see. Then came philosophers such as Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle and many more who challenged this conditioning with facts and science. It was an uncomfortable time in history. Yet it ensured positive growth for all humanity.

Change in any form is uncomfortable. But ask yourself this: How can I grow, learn and be a positive impact if that voice is yapping away in a not very productive way? Exactly the point of this entire article. Perfect time to jump into that empowering and effective exercise I promised you at the beginning of this article. Are you ready to pave the way to a powerful and productive YOU?

Find a comfortable place to sit. Gently focus your awareness at the center of your head. Inhale and exhale slowly. Imagine a whiteboard directly in front of you the size of a billboard. It’s eraser firmly grasped by your right hand. Recall an event, people or situations that have or are causing you an inability to become successful, reach a goal, or make a dream materialize. Put as many things as that F.E.A.R. voice is providing you with and slap it on that whiteboard.

Then, with that big eraser your right hand is holding erase the entire whiteboard. Every single thing is disappearing. You are now back to a clear and clean whiteboard and ready to create. Visualize on the whiteboard the YOU that you are meant to be. Successful, abundant, happy, healthy. Owning a business. In a new job. Or whatever dream or goals you’ve been keeping in your back pocket. Smile (both ends of your mouth go up : - ) ), see yourself fully fulfilling it all without F.E.A.R. crutches or excuses. Just YOU, an authentic and powerful being.

It is recommended you practice this exercise three times consecutively to get the full effects. Can you do more than three repetitions back to back, of course! You will notice that the more you practice the more F.E.A.R. and its voice will become simply an encouragement and intuitively filled voice.

Have a question regarding this article or maybe you’d like to suggest a topic? Write to me at: m_arrieta@yahoo.com. Next article we will talk about Forgiveness.

Marcela A. Arrieta is an alternative modality practitioner with over five years of experience in this field. She is also a successful entrepreneur who resides in Downey.