Our Fears Unveiled
GUEST BLOGGER: Crystal Steen, PhD, is the Director of Learning & Organizational Development at Simmons Foods.
Remember when the No Fear clothing brand emerged? It was not only a popular t-shirt, but a life mantra for many.
No fear. Easier said than done, right? Why? Because we’re human. And at any given moment, if we’re honest with ourselves, most of us carry around or work to fight off some degree of fear in our everyday lives, no matter how small.
I'll share some of my own, as an example. I have a fear of spiders, snakes and running out of Tylenol with a teething baby. I’m afraid of my husband having a car accident on his very long commute to work each day. The thought of anything bad happening to my kids is frightening to me. And I have a totally unrealistic phobia of answering office phones.
Most of us hide these fears on a day to day basis, because whether you're 8 or 88, no one wants to be the scaredy-cat.
Then there are times when life rips the mask off many of us and our rational and irrational fears at about the same time. And you walk into your local grocery store to see the evidence of those fears in the form of empty shelves. Like many emotions, fear is contagious. For many of us at this moment, our fears have been unveiled.
Let me be clear. I’m not saying that what is happening right now isn’t real, and that we shouldn’t be prepared and proactively protect ourselves and our families.
I am saying that we can prepare without panic. While we should be smart and make daily decisions with common sense, we should not live in fear. In fact, the Bible reminds us not to fear 365 times. (Many would say, once for every day of the year, but ironically, its leap year).
It’s a good time to become more aware of the fears we may fight even in the absence of a global pandemic. Whether your fears revolve around a virus, the economy or anything in between, here are a few things I’ve found to be helpful in the face of fear.
Write them down. Something about getting our fears on paper gives us a more objective way to look at them, and then sometimes laugh at them, or at least acknowledge them in an external way that may help clear them from your mind.
Breath deep. Seriously. When you start to physically feel the fear and anxiety, pause and take a deep breath. Take 5 seconds to breath in, hold it for 5 seconds, and take 5 seconds to breath out. Do that 5 times. The extra oxygen will literally change the chemistry of your brain.
Pray. Before you pick up a phone to share your fears with a friend, share them with God first. I catch myself constantly reaching for my phone before I've talked to the One who is really in control.
Be careful who you listen to. Stay mindful about what goes in your mind. Be diligent about what you watch and who you listen to via any kind of media or social media. Stay away from those that inflame your fears.
Stay grateful. Fear has a funny way of making us lose perspective of all the blessings around us. Take a few minutes to share with someone what you're both thankful for right now.
Focus on your next right step. Just the next right thing for you, right now. Not the monthly or the weekly plan. Take it one day, one hour, one next step at a time.
I might be stating the obvious here, but even if only for my own sake, I need reminded of the obvious things sometimes. I can be incredibly forgetful, especially when paralyzed or just distracted by my fears.
Life is messy. God is good.
“So do not fear, for I am with you.” - Isaiah 41:10