Knowledge — your weapon against fear and nervousness

Fear has a dual nature. It's both a protector and an inhibitor. You can use this understanding to help defeat fears that hold you back, as well as learn how to use knowledge to manage fears and stay safe.

In any learning activity involving significant challenges, you may sometimes feel nervous. What underlies this nervousness? It's usually fear. Fear of accidents, not being able to handle an event, not being able to recall information, or even sometimes fear of success.

In this chapter we explore some activities that can help you find the right balance between too little and too much fear. Firstly, I describe a "balanced model" of fear, showing that both too much and too little fear can harm your livelihood. An effective way for controlling fear is to make it known. Accept you have the fear and then find more information. Understand the particular issue causing the fear.

Fear of failure is a common issue, less known though is fear of success. You can use positive experiences to help you work through fearful events. As well, there are techniques to help you disassociate yourself from a past or feared event if it holds an irrational amount of fear.

Lastly, I cover three more techniques and tips that help you control fear. These are how to uncover hidden fears, how to control breathing to control nervousness, and tips for exams and tests.

Let's explore all these topics.

Use the balanced model

• Finding the right balance between too little fear (reckless, foolhardy) and too much far (static, paralyzed).
• How fear is usually (but not always) a warning from your body or brain that you may be putting yourself in a dangerous situation.
• Different fear positions for different activities.
• What influences your approach to risk and fear, and assertions that can help move you towards or away from risk and fear.

Remove the fear of the unknown — make it known

• How to remove much fear by making it known, and tips on how to do so.
• What to do with "worst case scenarios,"
• Tips for finding out more about exams and tests, journeys into new areas, and finishing training.
• Further assertions to help remove fear of the unknown.

Understand fear of failure

• Understand more about the fear of failure
• See how "positive thinking" can actually be harmful or dangerous. Learn how to apply positive thinking in the right place.
• Symptoms of fear of failure, such as escape mechanisms (fight or flight, procrastination, sleep), anxiety (stress, nervousness, neck and back aches, out of control feelings, sleeplessness, hypertension, and more), and irrational self talk.
• Steps for how to manage and overcome the fear of failure.
• What to do if persistence doesn't help.

Understand fear of success

• Describes how sometimes your fear may not be of failing — it may actually be fear of success and what that entails.
• Symptoms, including sabotage.
• Questions to help explore whether you may have some underlying fears of success, including life changes, complications, moving from structured to unstructured learning, additional pressures, and possible decline.
• Suggestions for dealing with fear of success.

Positive past experiences — use as anchors

• Suggestions for using positive past experiences as anchors to overcome fears.

Negative experiences — disassociate yourself

• How to separate emotions from negative experiences or imaginations, using mental imagery or visualization.
• Describes a disassociation technique called the disassociation movie.
• How you can also use this technique for phobias

Strategies for common issues

• Three strategies for common fear-related issues. The "seventy by seven" technique is useful for uncovering hidden fears. Breathing normally is a key element of handling nervousness. Lastly, I give some tips on handling exams and tests.
• How to use the "seventy by seven" technique
• Tips for breathing normally to unlock nervousness, including visualization, shunt, overcoming hyperventilation, learning to laugh (the benefits of laughter and seeing the funny or humorous side of things), using other people to help you (eg the naked audience, or a colleague helping you out), relaxation, and using other Memletic Techniques.
• Four ways to minimize or overcome nervousness associated with an exam or test. Includes understanding the source, realigning views, reframing the purpose, role reversal (for demonstration or oral style tests), and relaxation (the 90% rule).

A final note - fear can be a warning

• Sometimes your fear signals real danger.