Is fear or anxiety disrupting your future?

Will the business venture fail? Will I grow old with dementia? Will the cancer return? Will there be another global recession? These are real questions about real concerns, but our imagined fear and anxiety about the outcome are not real.

Fear is a response to present danger, and anxiety is triggered by uncertainty of the future.

Our brain is designed to activate a response to danger, e.g., defending ourselves when physically attacked, running from a fire, and staying still when a snake slithers close. These are three stress responses: fight, flight, freeze. They are automatic, but not always accurate in assessing real danger.

Fear is a reactive emotion to a real threat, and anxiety is a stress response to a perceived threat. When we can identify what we are feeling, we will know how to manage it

Worrying about the future creates fear about something that hasn’t happened yet.

"Anxiety isn't really about the future. It's about the mind trying to control what hasn't happened yet". Dr Caroline Leaf

We cannot fully know what the future holds. As I write this article, we are experiencing worldwide events that are impacting everyone, and understandably, this is creating ongoing uncertainty that may not be resolved by the time you read this page. A well-known acronym for FEAR is "False Expectations Appearing Real." 

When our anxious thoughts are focused on expecting the worst outcome, we can lose focus on factual information and being responsible for our personal lifestyle and decision-making.

I have my own acronym for FEAR, “Feeling my Energy As Resistance.”

Energy? Resistance? What has that got to do with fear?

When I resist current life events, my anxiety rises, which impacts my energy levels. Attaining holistic wellness requires letting go of thoughts that keep me in a state of depleted energy. Releasing unfounded fears shifts the resistance and restores energy levels.

How can we prevent fear and anxiety from disturbing our future? This is achieved when we become aware of what we are experiencing. Fear and anxiety can be managed by consciously directing energy toward what is within our control in the present, and by maintaining a responsible awareness of how we can support ourselves, others, and the world's resources to create a positive future.

Life is constantly evolving, and if you’re always trying to predict the future, you cannot live life fully in the here and now. Trish,