WHAT IS YOUR ANTIDOTE FOR FEAR?

YOUR FORMULA FOR FEAR

Yeah. It's a scary time. Or it least it is if you're following the economics of the US or the world. Or perhaps the entertainment industry. Or all three.

Whether you're looking at the economy, the election or your creative career, fear can  become a frequent visitor.

Some people and organizations use fear as a way scare you enough to trust them. To get you to believe them. To gain their control over you. To dominate you.

Unfortunately, this can be very effective.

FEAR CAN STOP YOU

Sometimes when we're scared we freak out and want someone to tell us it's going to be OK if we just do what they say. And when we're in this fear state we don't look too closely at the details or contradictions. In this fear state we just give our power and logic over to the external voice that's stepping powerfully and confidently forward to tell us what to do.

The supremely confident fear voice can be represented by hysterical TV pundits, controlling members of the executive branch, or most confusingly the negative voices in our head.

But how can we stop the downward spiral of fear?

Here's the formula for fear one of my coaches told me.

FEAR = EXCITEMENT minus ACTION.

If we get paralyzed by the ups and downs of the market, the industry or our daily task list we can get caught in the downward spiral of fear.

THE ANTIDOTE IS ACTION

Thus, if you take some action as a response to your fear, the fear will be transformed into excitement.

For example: A few weeks ago I began volunteering at Obama HQ in West LA. Rather than sitting around sweating the polling numbers online (which were looking bad at that time) I went in there with my laptop and did some data entry.

It felt good to be part of the process. To be around other people who cared about what I cared about enough to show up and volunteer to. It was a great energy lifter, and it inspired me to want to inspire others to do the same.

BLUE IN A RED STATE

My brother Peter lives in Salt Lake City. He sponsored a "Feeling Blue
in a Red State" party. Then he took his kids (age 6 and 8) to Obama HQ.
(In Salt Lake City, Utah.)

They all worked for 4 hours. (Not sure what the kids actually did, but for them to stay anywhere for 4 hours means they were having fun.)

The point is to stay in action, any action, even when you're feeling
afraid or hopeless. In fact, ESPECIALLY when you're feeling afraid and hopeless.
This reminds me of another great story from when I went to Burning
Man in 2001, just before 9/11. To make a long story short the action
that led to my mood change and salvation was volunteering to help move a huge pile
of carpet scraps, in the middle of a massive dust storm.

It wasn't the "fun kind of volunteering" I'd had in mind, but it ended up shifting my
energy to create one of my best days on the Playa ever!)

TAKE AN ACTION

So the solution is to do something. Take an action. Start with a small one.

Move your body. Move your brain cells. Move your lips. Move your fingers. Free your mind and you butt will follow.

Shift your mind, your emotions and your spine. Get out of the fear place by taking an action.

And see what magic you can create in yourself, your community and the world.