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All information is first processed through your brain’s amygdala - the brain’s fear & reactivity centre.
So most of the time, fear is actually running the show, even when it’s unconscious. If we leave this unchecked, we miss out on our potential by playing it safe in unnecessary ways.
So when you need to, you can take yourself through this fear-setting exercise to get motivated for change instead of being frozen in your comfort zone.
Phase 1
Getting Logical
Define The Fear
What exactly are you afraid of?
Be specific, and follow the fear all the way to the bottom, i.e. Try to focus on the imagined consequences of whatever you’re afraid of.
For example, the fear of posting about your passion on social media is more about the fear of negative responses, or a lack of response to what you post. What are the consequences of this to you? Perhaps uncomfortable feelings like embarrassment? Whatever it is, follow the fear all the way to the bottom.
Preventative Action
What could you do to stop this fear from becoming a reality?
List every potential thing that you could do to mitigate the risk factors involved. It can be helpful to include even bad ideas. This sounds counter intuitive, but actually allowing yourself to write down ideas you wouldn’t normally tolerate gets different parts of your brain working that we don’t often use, & can actually be a conduit for creative thinking.
Repair
Imagine the worst has happened & your fear becomes a reality. What would you do to repair & move on?
This part of the exercise forces us to think pragmatically.
Being afraid to have a conversation, for example, gets confused by the nervous system with a life-or-death fear response. We often benefit from realising that we can handle setbacks if & when they arise, & that a setback does not equal the end of the story.
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Phase 2
Changing Perspective
This steps gets your prefrontal cortex into brainstorming mode, which gives us a more reasonable, refreshing approach.
Brainstorm all of the potential benefits of making an attempt, or having a partial success.
Group Coaching Sign Up Open Now - £90pm - Next Cohort Begins Spring 2025 |
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Step 3
Harnessing the Power of Your Amygdala
This step is there to help create motivation. This step does not need to be carried out by people struggling with a lot of anxiety about the situation. But for those who are ready to harness the power of the amygdala to be on your side instead of working against you, you can find a lot of motivation really leaning into this exercise by imagining the worst possible scenarios in a way that allows you to hack your neurobiology to work for you instead of against you.
List the potential costs of not taking action (emotionally, physically, financially) in 6 months, 1 year and 3 years.
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