If there was EVER a time to allow FEAR into our lives, it would be now. Yet, what I can tell you is that if you are allowing fear into your mind and heart, it is only making your situation worse.
F.E.A.R. can be known as an acronym. Zig Ziglar shared this idea with all of us years ago. It has two very different meanings:
Forget Everything and Run
or
Face Everything And Rise.
Right now, with our world Pandemic and a Presidential Election going on, we can watch news briefings all day long telling us the new numbers of infections and the new tally of deaths from the previous day. That is horrific! It is awful! It is heart-breaking and is affecting us continually!
We mourn for the lost lives; we fear for our safety and we are facing the unknown. We are also seeing riots, rallies, protests, and all kinds of emotional chaos. For many, we have had horrific fires, Earthquakes and Hurricanes. Right here in little old Utah where I live, we have seen all of these this year.
If you are living in FEAR and it is taking over everything in your life right now, you are in the Forget Everything and Run mode. This will keep you afraid. It will cause you to be depressed. It will overtake your attitude, cause you stress and chaos. It will give you Anxiety. It causes additional health issues creating you to be MORE susceptible to catching the virus and more probable to other illnesses and health breakdown. It wears down your system, raises your blood pressure, clouds your thoughts and overtakes your energy.
If you are living in FEAR and you are seeing the good that is happening out in our world of chaos, you are in the Face Everything and Rise. There is a TON of GOOD going on in our world right now! You have Service being done on Every Level. We have neighbors checking on neighbors they have never met before. We have more time on our hands. Yes, we have added concerns and a lot have home school or a different kind of school. We have some still working from home and others going into the office with a lot of changes. But…You will see what you are focused on. You will see the good or the bad. It really is up to you!
Is it easy to be positive during this time of concern? NO, But it is a choice. We are responsible for our choices and our actions. We have the opportunity to be all that we can BE right now and YES, it is TOUGH! Really Tough! But you will be healthier, happier and more productive to choose to Face Everything and Rise!
How are you allowing fear to stop you?
Why is fear slowing you down from the progress you want?
Could you be more powerful if you were to face your fear?
What is fear stopping you from achieving?
Our world has created a way for us to feel that we must fit in and do things a certain way and to look for outside approval, when in reality we get to look within ourselves to strive to be our very best. We get to allow ourselves the opportunity to shine, be heard, accomplish and thrive! We get to stop holding ourselves back and living in comparison. We get to forge forward in a huge way, embracing our own unique gifts and talents and owning our truth. Even when the whole world is feeling difficulties. The people that you and I are seeing that are making the difference as thought leaders, as serving in whatever capacity they can. Right now, it is needed more than ever for you to step into this and choose for yourself.
“Your Success Begins when Your Fear Ends.” ~ Kris Barney. This statement is true. Think about it, when were you faced with fear recently? What did you do? Did you find a way to push through that fear and do what you needed to anyway or did you allow that fear to stop you and keep you held back? Have you pushed through your fear and started teaching your children in home school or have you supported a neighbor? Have you been sick with this virus and had to drop everything and find the courage to gain your health and strength back and win the battle of your life? Have you had a loved one that has gotten infected and is fighting for their life or have you had a loved one lose their life and your are in the depths of this in the most painful moments of your life?
Fear was given to us to avoid danger, to sense something that could be bad or to use as a source for protecting us from getting hurt. The actual definition is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat, and to be afraid of someone or something as likely to be dangerous, painful, or threatening. Everything about this pandemic is what this definition is telling us…we should AVOID it! Well, of course we should avoid getting COVID-19! But, we can also choose to be the good in this world and create hope, show love, support and serve as well as be strong for those losing loved ones and those who are so very sick, struggling for their next breath.
Fear can look like many things, such as:
Scared
Depressed
Self-conscious
Insecurity
Unqualified
Lack of Knowledge
Anxiety
Stress
Danger
Judgement
Acceptance
Not Belonging
What others might think
Lack Believing in Self
Yes, fear was given to us to avoid danger, yet many of us are allowing it to stop us from our full potential.
“Fear Can Stop You or Propel You…the Choice is Yours.” ~ Kris Barney
Let me ask you this? “Are your reasons for not taking action, just
excuses to disguise your fear?”
What is your fear doing for you? Is it stopping you from moving forward in a big way? Is it keeping you from taking that next big step in your life? Would you be more successful if you were to push through that fear that is holding you back and just go for it?
There are many things that can come from facing our fear, but I want to focus on 3 Benefits to Facing Your Fears:
Builds Courageous Confidence
Creates Accomplishment Mentality
Conquers Limitations
One of the greatest discoveries you can do for yourself is to push through the fear and feel the power to do anything! I have known for many years that pushing through fear in a powerful way can give you the courage and confidence to move forward. I have known that it allows you to feel your own power and to acknowledge that you are capable. Some of the biggest things that I have done over the years to overcome fear and to empower myself have been these:
Parasailing at Lake Powell
High Level Ropes Course
One of the highest Zip Lines in Mexico
Fire Walk with Tony Robbins
Skydiving with my Husband in MOAB
These have all been Amazing! They have all given me tremendous growth and belief in myself as well as courageous confidence. But a lot of the other things in my life that were difficult and even very scary have also given me those same feelings as I trusted the process and my journey and gone for it full force! Some of those have been:
Starting my own business
Real Estate Investing
Business Investing
My son having cancer
Adoption of my daughter
Suicide of my twin brother
Overcoming Depression
Personal Health Issues
Writing two Books
Raising Children
Empowering Others
Creating my own Events
Loss of Loved ones
Teaching others
Writing Programs
Creating Courses
PUBLIC SPEAKING
This list could go on and on. There are literally thousands of things that I could put on here, ranging from getting married, going to school, finding friends, to what I do all the time that is listed as the #1 Fear of people, even more than death, and that is public speaking. My question for you is this, what are you in fear of right now? What are you avoiding or unwilling to do? How could you benefit in your life if you were to embrace it rather than push it away? What are you missing out on? Could you be stepping up in a different way right now? Could you be supporting someone who has it worse than you do during this pandemic and time of uncertainty?
Our Perception can get in the way of how we see things. We place value on ideas and our thoughts. Some of those times it can be negative things that we allow to become fears or issues that scare us! Let me tell you about an experience I had recently.
I had a two-day event in New Jersey. This event was to up-level my public speaking career and I would be working on my “performance”. This means that I would be on stage in front of about 70 strangers while being “coached” by a few experts on performance, speech, voice, movement, content, use of stage, and many other things. For most of you, this is enough to send off every bell and whistle for fear to show up! But, let me add to this some of the fears that began to show up for me.
Hurricane Dorian was in full force. I would literally be FLYING into an airport that was experiencing all kinds of weather due to the Hurricane. This was in the path that it was currently taking. Yes, I tried for 5 hours to change my flight, reschedule and have new dates for the conference and get out of going at this particular time. After hours of phone calls and stress, it would cost me more to cancel then to attend, and according to the airports, it was all good!
The other stressful piece that was running through my head was that the only way I could make this all happen and return for another important speaking event was to fly out of New York from the JFK Airport, which meant I would be driving into New York during rush hour!!! WHAT WAS I THINKING???
At this point, before I had even left on this trip, I was in more FEAR than what I had experienced Skydiving!!
Think about that for a minute….I would rather jump out of an airplane than go on this trip at this point! I had allowed the fear to set in. I was creating it to be HUGE in my mind and it was taking over all my emotions!
This is exactly what we do. We allow fear to set in and STOP us from moving forward! What I can tell you is that we have the ability to control this.
I flew out of SLC airport at 6:00 am. I landed at my location that afternoon, and yes, in fact Hurricane Dorian was past my location and there were limited weather issues. I survived and thrived at my two-day conference, and I did not die while being on stage! AND most importantly, I DROVE IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC FOR THREE HOURS to get into New York and into JFK Airport and made my flight! I did it!! (What does not kill us makes us stronger, right?)
Were there scary issues? Of course! Was there bumper to bumper traffic? Yes! Was it scary? Yes! Did I survive? YES! AND not only that, but I gained all kinds of courageous confidence as I pushed through the fear. I created accomplishment mentality that soared within me and gives me confidence and reassurance for the next time I travel. It allowed me to conquer limitations that hold me back and freed me from my own thoughts and feelings of fear.
Face your fears. Stop allowing them to control your results. Even if it is something that you have never experienced before. Yes, we have a horrific situation before us, but it can make all the difference in the world by how you choose to handle it. It is time to go for it! Even in a world that is facing a huge pandemic. Embrace this opportunity to do it differently. Face Everything And Rise! As you do, you will raise everyone around you!
Gain the benefits that are out there by facing your fear. Gain these 3 Benefits to Facing Your Fears:
Builds Courageous Confidence
Creates Accomplishment Mentality
Conquers Limitations
Gain it today….do not delay. You are the only thing standing in your own way. May you be safe and healthy during this time of trouble. May you find joy in the moments and love in your heart.
F.E.A.R. can be known as an acronym. Zig Ziglar shared this idea with all of us years ago. It has two very different meanings:
How are you allowing fear to stop you? 
Fear can look like many things, such as:
One of the greatest discoveries you can do for yourself is to push through the fear and feel the power to do anything! I have known for many years that pushing through fear in a powerful way can give you the courage and confidence to move forward. I have known that it allows you to feel your own power and to acknowledge that you are capable. Some of the biggest things that I have done over the years to overcome fear and to empower myself have been these:
Real Estate Investing
My question for you is this, what are you in fear of right now? What are you avoiding or unwilling to do? How could you benefit in your life if you were to embrace it rather than push it away? What are you missing out on? Could you be stepping up in a different way right now? Could you be supporting someone who has it worse than you do during this pandemic and time of uncertainty?
I flew out of SLC airport at 6:00 am. I landed at my location that afternoon, and yes, in fact Hurricane Dorian was past my location and there were limited weather issues. I survived and thrived at my two-day conference, and I did not die while being on stage! AND most importantly, I DROVE IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC FOR THREE HOURS to get into New York and into JFK Airport and made my flight! I did it!! (What does not kill us makes us stronger, right?)