The first step to that is recognizing our fears and taking them in, looking at how they operate in our heads, what tactics they use to break us down. It's significant, I think, that the first part of your physical test was to evade and escape. You have to learn a heck of a lot about your opponent before you can do that successfully, and the only way to truly understand the techniques is to engage, not avoid.

The second step is to accept your fears–and respect them. The surest way to increase your fear is to reject it. We can't ever be fully ourselves if we try to deny what makes us who we are. We don't disable a fear by exerting equal and opposite force, but by creating friction, by slowing the fear down. To do that, you have to move with a fear, not against it. There's usually a perfectly good reason fear exists–usually prior experience, or lack thereof. But what was isn't what is; the past is beyond our control.

The last step for conquering fear, at least for me, has always been to make it stand up to me, not the other way around. When gripped with fear, we're usually asking “What if? What if? What if?” over and over again–but we regain our power, and control over fear, when we answer that question. So what if our worst fears are realized? What will we DO?

As soon as you play out the answer in your head, you have the power to overcome the fear, because you've translated thought to action. To take your story, what if you failed again? Then you'd keep working until you succeeded.

It almost doesn't matter if you believe you can do something you're afraid of. If you act like you can, what's the difference?

The first step to that is recognizing our fears and taking them in, looking at how they operate in our heads, what tactics they use to break us down. It's significant, I think, that the first part of your physical test was to evade and escape. You have to learn a heck of a lot about your opponent before you can do that successfully, and the only way to truly understand the techniques is to engage, not avoid.

The second step is to accept your fears–and respect them. The surest way to increase your fear is to reject it. We can't ever be fully ourselves if we try to deny what makes us who we are. We don't disable a fear by exerting equal and opposite force, but by creating friction, by slowing the fear down. To do that, you have to move with a fear, not against it. There's usually a perfectly good reason fear exists–usually prior experience, or lack thereof. But what was isn't what is; the past is beyond our control.

The last step for conquering fear, at least for me, has always been to make it stand up to me, not the other way around. When gripped with fear, we're usually asking “What if? What if? What if?” over and over again–but we regain our power, and control over fear, when we answer that question. So what if our worst fears are realized? What will we DO?

As soon as you play out the answer in your head, you have the power to overcome the fear, because you've translated thought to action. To take your story, what if you failed again? Then you'd keep working until you succeeded.

It almost doesn't matter if you believe you can do something you're afraid of. If you act like you can, what's the difference?

Sometimes I know what needs to be done and am fairly certain I can do it, just the part of actually following through opens the door to fear. The fear of what others think is probably high on the list. I'm slowly understanding that just doing it can help alot with that and build my confidence.

Kudos once again, Chris.

Sometimes I know what needs to be done and am fairly certain I can do it, just the part of actually following through opens the door to fear. The fear of what others think is probably high on the list. I'm slowly understanding that just doing it can help alot with that and build my confidence.

Kudos once again, Chris.

Thanks for the reminders.

Thanks for the reminders.

The first step to that is recognizing our fears and taking them in, looking at how they operate in our heads, what tactics they use to break us down. It's significant, I think, that the first part of your physical test was to evade and escape. You have to learn a heck of a lot about your opponent before you can do that successfully, and the only way to truly understand the techniques is to engage, not avoid.

The second step is to accept your fears–and respect them. The surest way to increase your fear is to reject it. We can't ever be fully ourselves if we try to deny what makes us who we are. We don't disable a fear by exerting equal and opposite force, but by creating friction, by slowing the fear down. To do that, you have to move with a fear, not against it. There's usually a perfectly good reason fear exists–usually prior experience, or lack thereof. But what was isn't what is; the past is beyond our control.

The last step for conquering fear, at least for me, has always been to make it stand up to me, not the other way around. When gripped with fear, we're usually asking “What if? What if? What if?” over and over again–but we regain our power, and control over fear, when we answer that question. So what if our worst fears are realized? What will we DO?

As soon as you play out the answer in your head, you have the power to overcome the fear, because you've translated thought to action. To take your story, what if you failed again? Then you'd keep working until you succeeded.

It almost doesn't matter if you believe you can do something you're afraid of. If you act like you can, what's the difference?