Everyone has a different relationship with the concept of fear; our own lived experiences shape what kind of role it plays in our lives, as well as how large that role is. Regardless of where on the spectrum we fall with fear, the one thing all we humans have in common is that, fear can all too easily become a destructive force in our lives if we're not careful.

The challenge, of course, is that (in the heat of those moments) imagined fears can feel all too real. Fear doesn't come from nowhere, right? We learn to be afraid – right or wrong – through life's trials and tribulations, millennia of biological programming as humans, and (in some cases) real-life traumas that can take years to work through.

⚡ Related: The Power of Language to Shape Our Destiny

In some cases, the fear we experience in our lives can come from traumatic experiences or relationships that can take years (even decades) to acknowledge, understand, and overcome. I'll be honest, as I share in this episode, fear is something I struggle with for this precise reason. 

Before you know it, those moments of crippling doubt and paralyzing anxiety can transition like lightning from a temporary dance with an imagined boogeyman that we move through, to a self-destructive halt in our lives – keeping us confined to "the devil we know," the "default" state that keeps us from truly living. Instead of moving forward, we succumb to fear-driven stories that keep us trapped.

This deeply personal and nuanced topic is an important one to have, which is why we knew we had to talk about it. The path each of us walks with fear is a deeply personal one, with certain fears sometimes easier to overcome than others. Let's at least take this first step together, as one. 

Questions We Explore

• When was the last time you were afraid to a degree that resulted in self-sabotage or complete paralysis?
• How would you define your relationship with fear today?
• One of my favorite things George says about FEAR is actually an acronym: "False Evidence Appearing Real" – and we talk about what that means!
• Why is it important for us to understand how easy it is to succumb to fear?
• While there are obviously nuances to how everyone should approach fear in their own lives, based on their experiences, what are some of the ways in which you address bouts of fear in the moment when they come up?
• Why is the language we use to talk about fear to ourselves so important to moving through fear?
• How does trauma factor into this discussion, where more than simple self-talk exercises are required to move through the fear traumas can create?