When’s the last time you took stock of your fears? Get ready to open up Pandora’s box, because that’s what we’re doing today. We all have our own personal fears, but what isn’t always obvious is that much of what terrifies us isn’t rational or based on any actual threat.
For example, consider stage fright. If you’re like many people, standing in front of a crowd speaking or performing is something that gives you great anxiety. But when you really think about it, while yes, it can be uncomfortable, you’re not going to incur any physical harm from making a speech. What’s the worst that can happen?
None of us is ever going to be free from fear, but it’s healthy for us to analyze the root of what scares us. Journaling about your fears is a great way to start taking power back from them. Simply writing your fears down in your journal can loosen the grip they have over you and allow you to act in spite of them.
Take a few moments, take a few (or a lot of) slow, deliberate breaths, center yourself and test drive these Journaling Prompts:
1. All Your Lovin Fears
Set a timer for two minutes. Write down everything that makes you feel afraid or anxious, even the silly things you might not want to admit. After the two minutes are up, look at the list you’ve created. Do you see any type of pattern here? Are there any overarching themes? Group your fears together to make more sense of them, and free-write about them.
2. Worst Case Scenario
There are a few steps in this journaling prompt:
- Write, “I am afraid that ____________________.”
- Under that statement, write the worst possible thing that could result from this fear coming to
pass. - Then write, “It is ______ percent likely that this will happen.”
- Write, “If this happened, here’s what action I would take: __________________.”
- Write, “I feel _____ percent equipped to handle this if it came to pass.”
- Read over what you just wrote, and reflect on it. How realistic is the fear you wrote about? If your fear does come true, how well equipped do you feel to handle it?
3. Triggers
Think back to the last time you were afraid. Where were you? What was happening? Who were you with? Give your journal a detailed account of this event. After you’re done reflecting, try to recall the moment just before you felt scared. What triggered your fears? Was it something someone said or did? Was it a situation you were put in? Think hard about when your anxiety started and what triggered it. Identifying the trigger can help you have better control over your fear the next time.
Remember:
We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot.
~Eleanor Roosevelt~
Face Your Fears about yourself, your body image, your psychophysical weight when you join us and take our 28 Days Weight Control Journaling Challenge which starts February 1!
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