Face Your Fears to Rise and Reinvent Yourself

We are all hoping for fresh opportunities and ways to reinvent ourselves post COVID-19. However, besides having these hopes and aspirations, we also have a great many uncertainties about the future and how we will navigate and succeed in the “new normal”. Crises challenge us immensely and create a lot of disruption in our lives which inadvertently opens the door to a great deal of change and the opportunity to reinvent ourselves. It is our fears about uncertainty and the unknown that too often prevent us from making the leaps to become our best selves and achieve the best results in our lives and careers. Those same fears make us uncomfortable and ultimately inhibit our growth and potential. Ironically, the truest growth happens when you embrace the discomfort and open your mind to the unlimited potential of its power.  Using fears’ power to move you outside your comfort zone into vulnerability.  Vulnerability helps you embrace fear and rise; moving you out of your past judgement and beliefs into a new way of thinking and becoming.  It is in the journey of becoming when reinvention appears.  The act of journaling my thoughts in the creation of this blog I feel my own emotions do a black flip—my fear and anxiety surrounding change and the unknown is now that of anticipation and excitement.  My mind is choosing what meaning to give the emotions I’m experiencing at the moment and through the brain training I have down working with transformation coaches like Nathalie Plamondon-Thomas, I have learned to choose joy over fear and to trust the process.

It is important to realize is that having fears is a natural part of being human and as humans, we have control over our emotions. We are all biologically hardwired with the same emotions – fear, joy, sadness, disgust and anger— some of us can respond to those fears with greater trust than others depending on our circumstances, dispositions, and experiences we have had. Having fears and inhibitions does not make you weak or less than someone else.  It is what you do with your emotions and the meaning you give them that either gives you strength or steals your strength.  We just have to figure out how to go about MO’ving past our fears and that journey we will have to make in our own time and in our way.

Here are six strategies to guide and support you in facing your fears so you can rise and reinvent yourself.

Learn as Much As You Can, Whenever and Wherever You Can

Knowledge is power and learning something new builds confidence in your skills and abilities to take on novel opportunities and MO’ve ahead when you get those chances. The more you know the better prepared you are and the less afraid you will be of the future. It is so important to remain current and “in the know” if you truly want to rise and reinvent yourself. I highly encourage you to check out the canfitpro 2020 Virtual Series starting August 14, 2020. This is an incredibly rich educational opportunity to gain insights into the latest health and fitness knowledge and information from some of the industry’s top presenters.

Remember Who You Are and your WHY

Reminding yourself who you are and WHY you do what you do will always help you accomplish your dreams and goals. It is easy to get caught up in all the “how’s” and fears about whether or not something will go the way we want. However, this reduces your effectiveness in achieving the results that you want. You will fee much more confidence, self-assurance and less fear about your future when you know who you are and the WHY behind your dreams and vision. I encourage you to take time to own who you are, acknowledge your strengths, your story of what you have accomplished until now, and WHY you do what you do. Reflecting and reminding yourself of this will MO’tivate you to rise to the next level and take those next steps on the path to reinventing yourself.

Find your Passion

Love and fear are the two strongest emotions that we can feel. However, when we feel the love we cannot feel fear. So, what are you passionate about? When you are doing something you love to do, you will get caught up in the positive emotion and energy of and your fear will naturally dissolve in the presence of the joy for what you enjoy doing. For instance, I love to MO’ve and I have found that MO’ving has a natural way of lifting my mood and energy which helps me be at my best.

Transform Your Perspective

Sometimes it comes down to how you look at the situation. For instance, you may see FEAR as “False Evidence Appearing Real” or you can look at the word as “Face Everything and Rise”. Do you notice a difference in how you feel reading one set of words compared to the other set? When you examine your fears and the situation from alternative points of view you will realize a new perspective and that is empowering. It will help you process the situation, find avenues, and see opportunities to MO’ve forward in the direction your dreams and achievements you desire.

Practice Presence

Often, we are afraid, that fear comes from us projecting ourselves into the future and the doubts and insecurities of not knowing exactly how the future will turn out. However, if you can become present in the MO’ment, your fears will have much less sway over your emotions and actions.

One of the greatest tools I have for practicing presence is meditation. Through meditation, we calm our brain and mind and can connect with the present moment which will save us from getting distracted and caught up in what “might happen”. This is also a phenomenal practice for focusing our power and our energy. Never forget that your power lies in the present.  If you are not familiar with the practice of meditation, or if you are looking to expand your practice and looking to rise in your leadership and your life, let me share with you this special album of meditations, which I co-created with my meditation coach, Angela Kontgen.  This practice of presence will require your patience.

Connect with Someone Who Inspires You

We all have our fears and they will be unique to us based on our circumstances. However, some of us will share the same sorts of fears. You therefore just need to find someone who has encountered a similar fear or situation to the one you are struggling with. Find someone who has overcome that fear and study their story and their journey to victory. If this is someone you can reach out to and connect with personally, reach out to them! There is a power of connection and we are here to help each other and learn from one another to achieve our best.  Check out the canfitpro 2020 Virtual Series for some inspiration.  Step into the virtual world of events with me and sign up so that you can connect with and learn from the incredible Presenters and Panelists who, by their presence, have demonstrated their own ability to overcome fear to be where they are today.  My advice is to be in the room with smarter people than yourself.  Remember you become the average of the 5 people you hang out with the most.   Are you lifting their average or are they lifting yours?

I know that facing one’s fears is a lot easier said than done. However, if you truly want to achieve your best; reinvent, reignite your life and career; and take back 2020 then you will have to do this and it is a lot easier to do with everyone around you having to do the same.   Don’t wait for when you are comfortable again to get comfortable.   I know we all have the potential within us and you can do this! And part of my WHY is to MO’ve and MO’tivate you through it all to achieve your best!