Dear Fear,

Fear, unfortunately, is an emotion I know well, and lately it’s been showing its face more frequently than normal.  I woke up this morning in panic mode after having a nightmare that caused my heart rate to quicken and my eyes to fly open.  There it was, that old familiar feeling of cortisol pumping through my veins and every muscle in my body seizing up as if curling into a ball of protection.  

I recently listened to Brene Brown’s new podcast DARE TO LEAD.  After studying leadership for the years she found that courage and fear are not mutually exclusive.  In fact her research shows that all great transformational leaders experience both fear and bravery all day long and at the same time.  This of course makes me feel a little better about my own fear, and I begin to wonder if these leaders view fear in the same way Elizabeth Gilbert does, as a PASSENGER ONLY along for this ride we call life.  

I have a client that once said to me, “When I make decisions from fear chaos ensues,” and I just can't get those words out of my head especially when I feel like I am being suffocated by fear. So my goal, as I move through his day and walk down the street observing the boarded up windows and off duty police officers on patrol, is to acknowledge my fear, not wallow in it or give it control, but also not push it away or armor up and pretend that it is not there.  Today, as Ram Dass says, I am going to try to just let it be.  

How do you manage fear during times of stress?

How do you prevent fear from making decisions for you? 

Letter to fear by Elizabeth Gilbert