Self-help advice. The Five Steps to Overcoming Fear and Self-Doubt

Will we ever be totally unafraid? Probably not. Fears and doubts willalways arise. As we go through the various stages and events in life,making one transition after another, we're constantly called upon toface new things that we've never confronted before. Being prepared witha process to follow when life tosses you a tough lesson can make thegoing a bit easier. Here's a handy list that you can copy and post foreasy reference:

Step 1: Acknowledge the fear and self-doubt. Don't minimize it, don'tcall it something is isn't (such as "nervousness", "apprehension", or"being somewhat anxious"). Just admit that you feel afraid or scared.

Step 2: Quantify the fear and self-doubt. On a scale of one to ten, howmuch fear and self-doubt are you experiencing? Once you've established alevel of fear, you've acknowledged just how grave you perceive thesituation to be.

Step 3: Imagine the worst-case scenario. What's the most horrible thingthat could happen? It's important to admit to yourself, and ideally toanother person, the story your mind has made up about the situation.Usually the worst-case scenario is: "I'll end up feeling humiliated andI won't be able to survive, either emotionally or physically."

Step 4: Gather information and support, confront the perception, anddissipate the fear. Collect all the facts and assistance you can inregard to coping with your worst-case scenario so that it doesn't occur.Once the information and support are there, you can confront yourperception. By addressing the physical situation, not only do yousurvive, but you're generally able to walk through the perceiveddifficulty. At that point, the fear automatically dissipates, you findthat you're not defective, and your self-doubt disappears.

Step 5: Celebrate! You've arrived in present-moment time. When you walkthrough your fear and self-doubt, you always end up in a place of joy.