The Fear Factor
by Linda Andrews
What would life be like without fear? At first, you might think, “That’s impossible.”
Fear does serve a purpose. It can alert you when something is off, guiding you to safety. But when hypervigilance takes the driver’s seat, fear becomes the filter through which you see everything. That’s when it drains your energy, clouds your judgment, and blocks opportunity.
Why Fear Is So Powerful
Fear often runs deeper than the present moment. It can be rooted in past trauma, early experiences, or even ancestral patterns passed down through generations. Without realizing it, many of us let fear dictate our decisions, relationships, and opportunities.
Three Practices for Working With Fear
1. Notice
The first step is awareness. Observe when fear shows up. Ask: Is this fear empowering me or limiting me? Even simple recognition—“Oh look, I’m doing that fear-based thing again”—can shift your perspective.
2. Contrast
Imagine how you would act, decide, and spend your time if fear did not exist. What choices would you make differently? This contrast helps you see the true cost of fear and the possibilities available beyond it.
3. Embodiment
Fear often pulls you out of your body and into mental loops. Practices like deep breathing, self-massage, movement, or journaling help you return to presence. From there, you can make decisions with clarity rather than fear.
Whose Fear Is It?
Sometimes the fear you feel is not even yours. It can come from media, relationships, society, or experiences before age 10 that locked into your subconscious. Ask: Whose fear is this? Does it still deserve a seat at my table?
When you notice, you gain the ability to choose differently. You can trade fear for possibility, and anxiety for clarity.
The Invitation
Bring to mind something on your heart right now, something where fear feels present. For a moment, imagine what it would be like to step into infinite possibility instead.
Maybe it’s a job you dislike but feel afraid to leave. Maybe it’s a project you want to launch but fear failure. What shifts when you imagine moving forward without fear?
Fear does not have to run your life. With awareness and practice, you can reframe it as an invitation to clarity, freedom, and possibility.
Start the 22-Day Reset to create daily practices that help you notice fear, regulate your system, and step into possibility with confidence.