Excitement

I talk a lot about overcoming fear but fear is hard to escape when it grips you. Think for a second about that body feeling you get when fear rises up big. We associate that feeling with ‘bad’ but it’s actually just one notch off from exhilaration (good).

Here’s a really practical way to break free next time you feel it rise. Turn fear one notch over to the right. By your will (and prayer would help) force that burst of energy into the positive. Insist on it. Don’t allow it to be any other way.

I heard this quote recently and fell in love…

‘Fear is excitement without the breathe’

This rings true with me instantly. You hold your breath in fear. You hold tension in your body. We stop and wait. Think deer in headlights.

The same chemical mechanism that feels like fear is actually just right next to excitement. Any fear can be transformed into excitement by breathing fully with it.

Take big easy breaths when you feel fear. Realize that it can turn into excitement. Feel it and breathe it even more and it becomes exhilaration!

• credit to Fritz Perls MD