Some people say fear is false evidence appearing real. Well, what does that mean for a scardy-cat like me and is my fear of something bad happening in the future precluding me from present happiness?  Let’s dive in during today’s show.  

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and I was thinking about fear lately.  It was sparked by a documentary I saw where Jack Canfield, creator of Chicken Soup for the Soul said that fear was all in our mind and that everything we were fearful of was something in the future and not in this present moment.  That got me thinking.  You see, I am a worrier.  I am fearful of a lot of things.  And if I check myself, it’s all in the future.  

He said in this documentary, if you see a snake slithering by your feet, the fear is that in the future it will bite you.  But in the present it’s just a snake.  Let me be clear -- I see a snake, I’m climbing the wall and scared as hell.  No way would that work.  But, I’m open minded and it got me thinking … ok, maybe what I am fearful of is a lot of the future.  

They say fear is False Evidence Appearing Real.   I thought it was so fascinating that I wanted to share this idea with you.  Perhaps it could help you calm some of your fears.  I’m super cautious, but the next time I feel fearful, I will remind myself that this is my brain delivering false evidence that hasn’t actually happened yet.  I don’t know how much it will work, but what I do know is that we just need to make a little progress everyday and it doesn’t have to be a life-changing transformation for real progress to happen.  

Now, being scared of snakes, I’ll still jump out of my skin if I see one. But I’m trying to think of how I can re-frame some other fears, that might be more irrational, or as my kids would say “scaredy-cat”.  

This all got me thinking about happiness.  We can’t hold two emotions at one time.  It’s impossible.  So if I am holding on to fear, am I happy?   

The next time I am feeling fearful, I will turn the lips of my mouth up to form a smile and ask myself if this fear is real?  I don’t know how it will work, but I’m trying it.  What do you think? Would this tip work for you?   We’d love to hear how it’s working.  We’re @everydayhappinesswithkatie on social. 

Information for the documentary mentioned in this episode can be found HERE. 

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