3 Simple Steps To Overcoming Your Fears And Firewalk

Here are 3 simple steps you can take to overcome your fears. I'm going to use a firewalk as the analogy or context for these steps.

Last year, I -- make that we (since my wife Michelle and our daughter Jalyna, who just turned 12, also participated) -- participated in a firewalk while in Australia. The coals were 1200 degrees fahrenheit, glowing red and still flaring. It was an unnerving sight and it brought up more than a little bit of fear.

As I've written before, fear is for the most part all in your head. In my case, the primary fear was imagining that I'd end up with severe burns to my feet and unable to walk. Then of course that would lead me to fall down onto the hot coals, and have my clothing catch fire. Heck, perhaps I'd even spontaneously combust! (We did have to sign a waiver acknowledging death as a potential outcome.)

Of course, none of those things happened. We all successfully navigated the bed of burning coals and felt exhilarated when we got to the other side. We were able to successfully overcome our fear by following three simple steps.

Step 1: Decide

The first step is to decide you will proceed in the face of your worry, doubt, or fear. In the absence of the decision to proceed, nothing will overcome the inertia and fear will rule the day.

In the case of our fire walk, we each made the decision that it was something that was important for us to do. Why? Well, for me, it was a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate to myself that I'm able to rise above my fears and do something my mind is telling me I can't or shouldn't do. This was important to me. Besides, other people were doing it, so why couldn't I do it?

A strong desire for something that's on the other side of your fear is a prerequisite to making the decision. But the decision is the foundation.

Step 2: Keep Moving Forward

Once you've embarked upon your goal, you must keep moving forward. If you allow fear to set in, you have a tendency to freeze (like a deer in the headlights) which is when things you don't want to happen are most likely to happen.

In the case of the firewalk, if we stopped part way along the path and simply stood there, then there was a very high likelihood that we were going to start suffering burns.

Moving forward means taking the step by step actions required to maintain momentum.

Step 3: Focus On Where You're Going

You must keep your eye on your destination ... don't look behind you or off to the side to see what's happening. When you do, you will be prone to misstep.

In the case of the firewalk, if we started to look behind us or at the crowd, we would be putting our safety in peril. That is how we'd most likely trip or misstep and then really hurt ourselves. We had to keep our eye on the other side of the coal bed, which served as our "lighthouse" of sorts that served to guide our navigation.

And then, celebrate!

You can be sure there were a lot of high fives and hugs in celebration when we made it to the other side of the hot coal bed ... as there should be. Living a life of inspired abundance means deciding to go after what you desire, moving constantly forward, and keeping your eye on where your're going at all times ... and then celebrating your successes along the way.

There you have it, 3 simple steps to overcoming your fears that I believe apply to literally any situation ... including doing a firewalk.

Andy Andrews The Butterfly Effect

Have you heard or seen Andy Andrews' explanation of the butterfly effect?

I've been focused on the theme of fears and dreams all week and how, when we focus on our fears they tend to immobilize us and lead to inaction, when all it takes is an inspired action to propel us towards our dreams.

And often, it's that one inspired action which can have a ripple effect far beyond anything we might have imagined. It's what can lead to a life of inspired abundance not just for ourselves, but can impact countless others as well.

Here's Andy Andrews discussing the butterfly effect.

Let Your Fears Shape Your Dreams

Is it possible to let your fears shape your dreams?

I repeated the assertion that dreams and fears are part of the same coin in several posts this week. They're both visions of a future outcome which we can choose to focus on and believe, or dismiss.

If what we aspire towards is a life of inspired abundance, then in order to build upon our dreams we must first become clear about what we really want ... in specific terms.

Often though, I find that difficult to do ... I can't seem to find the clarity around what it is that I want. Do you find this difficult to do as well?

In that case, we you can let your fears shape your dreams because your fears can help you to gain that clarity. Behind every fear is a wanting.

So I can simply ask myself what it is that I'm afraid of. Not having enough money to retire? Getting sick and dying?

Then I can turn the statements around to gain clarity around what I do want. I want financial security. I want good health.

So if I'm stuck when it comes to clearly defining what I want, I can ask, "right now give the present circumstances of my life, what is it that I am most afraid of?"

Once I have that answer, I can then ask "right now given the present circumstances of my life and given what I fear, what is it I want that is most important to me?"

Wherever possible, I attempt to express what I want as a noun. In doing that then I know I'm being specific.

So while you want to avoid placing undue focus and expectation around your fears, understanding and examining your fears can in fact be very useful in helping you become clear about what you do want. Sometimes it's okay to let your fears shape your dreams.

Overcoming Fear By Taking Action

Do you give into your fears or take action to pursue your dreams?

If fears and dreams are simply the opposite sides of the same coin, what is the key trigger that makes one outcome more likely than the other?

I suppose there are several, but it seems to me it is the willingness to take action.

In my experience, focusing on fear leads to indecision and inaction -- we have a tendency to freeze like deer in the headlights.

But conversely, focusing on our dreams and what we want leads to inspired action. And it's inspired action taken with faith and purpose that can move mountains and alter history. It's what carries us down the road to inspired prosperity.

Don't believe me?

I invite you to watch this video clip of Andy Andrews, as he shares the story of Joshua Chamberlain, a true person of action.