#4 – F.E.A.R.
It is a four letter word, and feels like one most of the time. It can dismantle the best of intentions, and ruin a perfectly good idea or day. When we lose track of the present, we can move into a state of worry, anxiety or fear about the future. We can also move into a state of worry about what’s happening right now, when life hands us more circumstances than we currently know how to manage resulting in a state of overwhelm, or a perception that all that’s happening is more than we are in this moment. The answer is always in finding a way to be present, changing our thinking to a state of “now” and what’s so, not what could be or isn’t.
The acronyms for fear are plentiful –
Face Everything And Rise;
F#<% Everything And Run,
Feeling Excited and Ready
For Everything A Reason
Failure Expected And Received
Future Events Already Ruined
Finding Excuses and Reasons
Forget Everything And Relax
And my personal favorite: False Evidence Appearing Real. When I think of it this way, I am grounded in today and can return to being in charge of my thinking rather than experiencing a cascade of thoughts happening to me all at once.
Fear. It can have you or you can have it. The choice is in how you define yourself in relation to it. Choose your acronym wisely.