Feel, Then Choose

As cool as it sounds to be courageous, there’s some scary-ass stuff out there. Facing our fears doesn’t have to be about conquering all comers, but it does have to be about the productive acknowledgment of our feelings.

Here are 3 steps from Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now we can use to dissect our personal fears or professionally apply to help others face theirs:

1. Sense before you think. Whatever that feeling is, notice the sweats, or the shakes, or the lump in your throat before you start rationalizing it.

2. Ask yourself what is literally going on in your body at that moment. Again, focus on the sensations.

3. Remind yourself that the feeling is the truth, and whatever rationalization comes next needs to be in productive service to that feeling.

Here’s Seth Godin (from “Afraid of Afraid“) on the clarity and purpose that comes from accepting our feelings as they are:

Fear of being afraid keeps things on our to-do list forever, keeps important conversations from happening and shifts how we see our agency and leverage in the world.The bravest leaders and contributors aren’t worried about appearing afraid. It allows them to see the world more clearly.

When we can productively acknowledge what we’re feeling, we have the opportunity to lead ourselves and those we seek to serve in whatever direction we choose to go in next.

Feel the feels. Then choose – with intention – what to do with, and where to go from them.