FACE YOUR FEARS

BUILD UP YOUR RESILIENCE WITH THESE STRATEGIES TO SHAKE OFF STRUGGLES AND SELF-DOUBT

We tackle obstacles all the time, often with varying degrees of fear. Mostly we can navigate our way through them, barely noticing. But sometimes we freeze or flee.

According to Mark Berridge, whose new book, A Fraction Stronger, documents his belief in the possibility of impossible moments after a cycling crash and devastating spinal cord injury turned his world upside down, there may be people out there that live without fear – but he isn’t one of them. Instead, he confronts it head-on.

“I concentrate on the steps that help me flow with it, rather than allow it to wash over me,” says Mark. “By facing fear, I change my circumstances and perspectives. I don’t want my life to be constrained by the suffocating fear of ‘what might be’, so I open my mindset to the opportunities of ‘what might be’ amid and beyond fear.”

If you struggle to see past obstacles, try Mark’s six strategies to overcome any fear and adversity in your life.

ACT NOW

Experience has taught me that the only effective way to quell my fear is to tackle it, either by taking physical action or setting a mental plan of how and when I will move forward. The ‘when’ is important. Without a deadline, our tendency can be to defer, allowing the fear to become exaggerated by our thoughts.

Sometimes my first act is simply deciding how I will show up, as selecting the attitude I will apply to the situation may be just as important as the steps to be taken. To encourage myself to act, I convince myself that the alternative – doing nothing – is simply not an option. Try to critique the advantages of progression versus the dread of inaction.

By looking forward in this way, you will help liberate yourself and open your mind to new perspectives and new possibilities.

DON’T GIVE UP

Having de-shackled ourselves from fear, we do not want to be recaptured! We need to quell self-doubt about the actions taken, as this can trigger reversion to fear. We need to grant ourselves permission to make imperfect decisions and achieve imperfect results. Encourage yourself to do this by rewarding the decision to act and the effort applied to break inertia. Focus on the experience and information gained from that act rather than the outcomes. Ensure that progress trumps regret. Strategies like this help us persevere.

VISUALISE POSITIVE OUTCOMES

To encourage ourselves to lean into the fear, we can employ visualisation to help us start and to keep going. Focus on the outcome and not the challenge of the journey. Picture yourself reaching your goal and the points that demonstrate progress towards those outcomes. This moves our perspective from the fear to the reward, but it also prepares us to persevere in the case of shortfall, because we can still celebrate the valuable progress made.

SET INCREMENTAL GOALS

Break down the problem into smaller pieces. Creating manageable steps may not immediately make the fear surmountable, but it diffuses that sense of it being insurmountable. This action also provides opportunities to reward effort applied towards these interim targets, and opportunities to celebrate them. Each step builds confidence.

RIDE THE TIDE

Be kind to yourself and utilise the ebbs and flows to your advantage rather than lament them. With all the best intent, you will have good moments and bad moments. Push hard for progress when you feel momentum, and value what you have achieved by avoiding giving ground when the current feels against you. It will pass, visualise it passing.

SAVOUR THE MOMENT

Think back to fears you have faced in the past and how great you felt as you tackled them. The unsettling anticipation, that fear of stepping into the unknown; the uncertainty and liberation once you committed to an action, and ultimately, the sweetness of both the attempt and the reward.

• Mark Berridge is the author of A Fraction Stronger (Major Street, $32.99). Visit markberridge.com.au