1 SCARY THING DAILY PROJECT

Eleanor Roosevelt came from humble roots. Her mother died when she was 8, her father was institutionalized due to alcoholism and died when Eleanor was 10. She herself was not blessed with physical beauty. More importantly she overcame adversity, she is credited with the following phrase, "do one scary thing everyday". We have adopted this philosophy as the cornerstone of achieving of life goals.

She is the inspiration for all of us who strive to follow in her footsteps by pushing against the self imposed walls of fear that imprison us. The thought of being trapped within the walls of a prison may make us cringe; yet, our fears keep us trapped in a prison of our own making. Fears keep us imprisoned by beliefs, attitudes and behaviors that control and limit our life.

The "1 Scary Thing Daily Project" was designed to achieve results, provide a forum to share our successes and failures, and now in this article to provide a framework for fear management. I've named the process F.E.A.R. And here's how it works....

First let me share some general thoughts. We do not list all of your fears as this may produce a feeling of dread caused by feeling overwhelmed by the list. Rather we take them on one at a time as they appear to us. Keep a journal of each time you use these steps and write comments about the 4 steps as you progress through them. Make sure to do step 4 and repeat as necessary to start to develop feelings of power and mastery over these fears. Please do not skip step 4, it is the pay off step. Here are the steps....

1. Face. Identify and face the fear and admit that you are stuck here and that you are committed to getting unstuck. If you cannot do this part you can go no further. Decide if you still want the fear or if you are ready to let it go. (Hint: if you're reading this then you're ready to let it go)

2. Educate. Remember, fear is a very complex emotion; we simplify it for our use by identifying a key component of fear as the feeling of apprehension about a possible outcome, or of the unknown. Knowledge can disarm fear in many cases. We may not be able to have knowledge of the outcome of certain situations that frighten us, but we can be rational about the probable outcome, and realize that it can cause us no harm

3. Action. Act in the face of your fears, is our motto. We know that Fear is never going to be eliminated from our life; it is a necessary and natural response. Remember, the hallmark of this program is Courage. We view overcoming our fears so we can achieve the results in life we want to as an act of Courage. This is the pivotal step; we have readied ourselves by performing Steps 1 and 2. Here's the good news, all of the rewards come after this step. You get to experience the feeling of accomplishment, the pride of knowing that you did it. Experience the result of having gained more choice in your life, more personal power; you've made a jail break.

4. Resolve. Look in the mirror and give yourself big CONGRATULATIONS. This step is important because as we exercise the "muscles" needed to repeat this process to get stronger at applying the 4 Steps we need to celebrate our successes. You can say, "if I can do this once I can do it twice and so on". This will get easier, and by that I do not mean all your fears will subside, what I mean is that you are going to become stronger and more resolute to act in the face of your fears.

Remember, take action. Make a plan, stick to it, do whatever it takes to free yourself from your fear. Update your belief system and change your language. Be accountable for your success by telling others about your intentions. Be strong and determined in your convictions. Get excited and just go for it. If you need help, find and work with a coach. Do whatever it takes.

If you start to procrastinate while taking on this exercise, laugh at yourself for trying to avoid facing your fears. If you're tempted to not put your fears on notice, ask yourself why. Does it take you out of your comfort zone? Do you have a fear of being outside your comfort zone? Maybe it's time to challenge yourself -- you'll love the feeling of liberation and confidence that comes with overcoming your fears. By freeing yourself from your fears, you'll recharge your life and feel fantastic!

"The Courage 2 Succeed" is doing "1 Scary Thing Daily"