I’ve referenced my Hypnobabies program before in “Getting My Hippie Dippie On” and I will be doing a full review on BugChild.com (I’m currently in the last week before maintenance…yikes!). But I keep coming back to one of the exercises because it so relates to other things in life, like work and athletic events and weight loss and relationships and more.
The exercise is part of a “Fear-Clearing Session” and the idea is that instead of trying to hide our fears and concerns, we should speak them aloud — literally! — to confront them and clear them. In pregnancy, those fears might be related to labor, to the stress of the first few weeks with a newborn, etc.
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But think about the fears you have:
- I am afraid that I will never lose the weight.
- I am afraid that I will always be in this dead-end job.
- I am afraid that I will search for my true love and come up short.
You manifest what you fear — I really, really believe that. It’s the power of intention…when you give the universe a chance to reward you, it will. If you expect to fail, you will.
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The program encourages you to say the fears aloud (or write them down if you’re more comfortable), followed by your intention. So you might say:
- I am afraid that I will never lose the weight but I am committed to eating well and exercising every day, taking it one day at a time.
- I am afraid that I will always be in this dead-end job but I will continue to work on my resume and attend at least one networking event each week.
- I am afraid that I will search for my true love and come up short but I love myself and have joined a new dating website so I can be exposed to new people and opportunities.
By acknowledging fears, we take away their power. Try it — say one fear out loud and I promise you, you’ll feel relieved to at least have confronted it and taken it out into the open.
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Hippie dippie, I know. But it’s helped me a LOT and I hope it helps you!
About Katy
Great post! This is so true. Every time I have some sort of fear, the second I create some sort of plan to move forward, I always feel so much better. It gives me extra motivation and confidence to conquer the fear at hand.
I like this. I am a true hippie dippie at heart too.
Katy! I can so relate to this post. I believe that this has been a core part of my own personal work over the past 5 years. Its the journey of facing my fears head on.
It is not a sexy process and sometimes it doesn’t really feel like I am getting anywhere with it. The reality is that it is a slow process that can be transformative. Acknowledging the fear as it is, allows us (at least for me) to see what are some of the crazy messages I tell myself in my head. It also allows me to see in what ways I am sabotaging myself based on just that fear. Fear over the unknown, fear that my life is going to look at a certain way. Guess what sometimes my fears come true if I focus on resisting them. Crazy vicious cycle.
Thank you for sharing this post and your own journey. Great stuff!
Thank you a MILLION times over for sharing this post. I deal with a lot of anxiety and fear in my life. I’ve never thought to write it out like you described. I will be tackling this project now.
I love hearing about programs and exercises that emphasize using our own mind to alleviate problems! The mind is such a powerful tool, and I’m so sick of it being clouded in negativity. Onward!
I’m not sure it is all that hippie dippie. Sometimes part of cognitive behavioural therapy is to answer the “what ifs” when it comes to dealing with your anxiety – to me, this sounds a lot like a variation on that. Regardless – whatever works for facing fears.
Thank you for sharing this. I really NEED it.