Have you noticed how fear sells?
It sold enough people to vote for Trump. The pending Trump administration strikes fear such that it appears the USA is poised to experience what Republicans have accused Obama of for the past eight years - rule by dictatorship.
Fear flows trillions of dollars from personal to corporate accounts daily. According to the September 2016 Annual Report On The Insurance Industry published by the Federal Insurance Office, U.S. Department Of The Treasury:
For 2015, the U.S. insurance industry reported another year in a run of solid financial performance, and, in the aggregate, remained in sound financial condition. Positive net income again raised the reported surplus level of the life and health sector to a record level of $367 billion at the end of 2015. The property and casualty sector was also profitable, but net unrealized capital losses caused surplus to remain essentially flat at $687 billion as of year -end 2015.
Check your bank statement. How much do you spend to insure against loss of life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness? What would you do with extra money gained by dramatically reducing your insurance premiums (by reducing your fears fueled by doubt, guilt, shame or worry). With more banked wages how would daily life change? Doubt, guilt, shame and worry feed fears so well they cause heart-attacks, strokes or substance abuse to cope with increasing stress.
Prepare to dissolve doubt, grasp guilt, shun shame and waft worry to finish-off fear.
How many times today did doubt consume precious resources like time, attention, respect or money? When in doubt enjoy a few hearty deep breaths. With a clear mind your able to hear your soul. Doubt dissolves like water on sand when we listen to our souls. (Need help with clearing your mind? Get some now!)
Over the past week how many times did guilt zap you? Guilt (like thunderstorms) build until we witness lightening strikes accompanied by crashing thunder. Migraines strike like lightening; squalls of depression crashes our health. Ongoing guilt erodes us until we're absolutely dead tired from constantly treading water. Life is too short to drown in guilt! Right? When guilt strikes ask yourself a simple question: what inspired this guilt? Explore (versus analyze) your thoughts. Before you know it you’ll find feelings of guilt passing like thunderstorms do every day.
Shame time! Giving or receiving shame in any flavor, size or smell is about as useful as throwing gasoline onto someone who is already on fire. Could you imagine throwing gas on someone who’s already on fire, especially someone you love? The next time you think or say, “Shame on you!” you actually burn yourself as well as the person you’re shaming. Shame may burn for a lifetime. Do you really want to burn yourself? While we do learn from shame pain, learning need not be painful or even stressful. (I state this based on two decades worth of feedback from students, clients, family and friends.)
Next? Worry! Worry fuels fear much like fiction fires-up emotions. Imagine me walking up to you and saying,
“Where’s my payment! You owe me money!”
To your knowledge you don’t owe me anything. Because you’re NOT 100% sure you owe me money you pay me anyway. It's easier in your mind to pay me to avoid worrying about something you’re not sure about. Besides! You have a reputation for paying your debts! No one is going to guilt-trip you over being a flake! Right? After you pay me I say thank you, and walk away leaving you doubting yourself if you did the right thing! Doubts feed worry - right?
Worrying is like paying money to someone you don’t owe money to! End worry by facing facts as facts appear. Period. Deal with the facts in a ethical way and you’ll dissolve your need to worry - permanently.
As fear fades with less worry, shame, guilt and doubt we enjoy ever-increasing levels of better health. The more healthy we are, the more we accomplish with far less fear. While it may take some time to attain good health on all levels, remind yourself:
“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” Marie Curie