My question for you today is,
Do you often worry about situations that you have no control over?
Or maybe you tend to micromanage every single detail of your life, both for yourself and the people around you.
Both of these behaviors often have the same underlying energy. And that is what we’ll be discussing today, and how to get over it.
Our topic for today is, Overcoming the Fear of Uncertainty.
Understanding the Fear of Uncertainty
We first need to understand that uncertainty is just a natural part of life. Life just isn’t set up to know everything before we engage in the journey.
We can study, learn and prepare ourselves for upcoming situations. But we can never know everything that may come at us, in any area of life.
We may be in a great relationship today. And the person that we love may suffer ill-health and they are lost to us. We then find that our emotional stability has fallen apart.
We may be living a very stable life, and then suddenly we have a job change that affects our income negatively. We then find that our material stability is no longer secure.
All of these are a natural and normal part of life. We prepare as best as we can. And to the emotionally-healthy person, we adapt when circumstances change in our life.
But for many people, even what seems to be small changes to their routines can send them into feelings of anxiety and stress. In order to try to cope with these feelings, they then find themselves going into excessive worry. This in turn can lead to trying to control everything and everyone around them.
Perceived Benefits to Fear of Uncertainty
Another aspect of understanding the fear of uncertainty is to look at what are the perceived benefits to holding on to this fear.
When looking at the perceived benefits of any fear, we are not looking for logical or tangible benefits. Rather we look for, what is it that this part of ourselves believes is being served by holding onto the fear.
For people that have gone through some life-altering trauma in their past, they may find that they are in a continuous state of hyper-vigilance.
This means that they are always trying to be hyper-aware of their surroundings for what could possibly be a threat to their well-being.
Here, the perceived benefit is that, if I keep myself in a hyper state of awareness, then I can feel safe.
This is what I refer to as, Emotional Logic. The logic may feel true to the person, although the result of constantly being in this state can have negative effects on the physical body and your overall well-being.
When working with people with the fear of uncertainty, I first help them to realize what are the perceived benefits that they are receiving from holding on to the fear. Many people are not even aware that they are receiving any benefits but they soon realize how this has affected their health and well-being once it’s been brought to their awareness.
The perceived benefit allows you to have the perception of control, when in reality you are never in control.
Overcoming the Fear of Uncertainty
When I work with people that are locked into fear, we discover that the feelings stem from some past experience.
These past experiences may have been traumatic to the person that went through them, even though the event took place years or even decades in the past.
I invite the person to reach out to that younger part of themselves that went through the experience with compassion and empathy. As we begin to embrace the part of ourselves that has been stuck in fear, we often find that the fear of uncertainty also begins to dissipate.
This is not a miracle cure. It can take several weeks or several sessions of reassuring the younger self. But with consistent action we find that it is possible to overcome the overpowering feelings of fear.
In other words, the practice to overcome the fear of uncertainty is to first make it safe for the inner child, or the younger self.
By releasing the fear of uncertainty, you’re then able to take pragmatic preparations for events. You’re also then free to take action guided by circumstances, not ruled by fear.
In other words you gain the ability to see life clearly, as opposed to having perception clouded by fear.
Reaching Out for Help
I’m not trying to suggest that letting go of fear is simple or easy. That’s especially true for deep-rooted fears that you may have held onto for much of your life. But I am suggesting that it is possible. And the benefits of releasing these fears can be liberating in a wide variety of ways in your life. I believe that it is possible for you.
But sometimes we all need a little extra help. Another person can often see in you what you’ve been hesitant to see in yourself. Sometimes just one insight can be enough to help to move you forward towards the life that you desire.
So now let me ask you.
Are you ready to let go of your own fear of uncertainty?
Are you ready to move beyond the energy of fear, and into feeling the energy of acceptance and freedom in your life?
I believe that there are times when having another person help to guide you can really be a transformative experience. This is the reason that I encourage everyone to reach out for help when it comes to resolving issues that are difficult or seemingly impossible to work through on your own.
And if you’d like to work one-on-one with me I’m here to help. You can reach out to me through my Contact page and set up a time for us to work together.
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I hope this has been helpful and insightful.