IS “FEEL THE FEAR, DO IT ANYWAY” WRONG?

March 8, 2008

Feel The Fear, Do It Anyway is the title of a great book by Susan Jeffers. For a long time, I used that phrase to guide my actions. I figured “You stay outside your comfort zone, you continue to beat down your demons.”

Feel The Fear, Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers

Then the Law of Attraction, or LoA, came along in the form of Esther and Jerry Hicks. You can read my article on their book, The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent. That book did more to change my life than any other “self-help” book has.

The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent by Esther and Jerry Hicks

The LoA and Upstream vs Downstream

The LoA tells us that whatever your desires, you must learn to allow them to come to you easily. It is not about working as hard as you can for 40 years. The core concept is that you are a magnet for what you want. You may attract and repel in equal measure, but you are a magnet. Your desires are lined up and aimed right at you as soon as you declare to the Universe that you want them.

The Hicks wrote another book entitled The Astonishing Power of Emotions that introduced us to the concept of upstream vs downstream activity. On the treadmill of trying to get ahead, we are paddling our canoes against an endless current. If we could relax, our canoe would turn and follow the current. We would find all of our desires downstream.

The Astonishing Power of Emotions by Esther and Jerry Hicks

Is overcoming fear a stage of growth?

In one of my favorite songs on the Josh Groban CD, “Let Me Fall”, Josh Groban sings “..there’s a moment when fear and dreams must collide”. Is it true? Is it so for everyone? If trying anything new is on the agenda, as it must be to grow as a human being, perhaps Feel the Butterflies is apt, where Feel The Barf is a sign of the wrong direction.

Watch this YouTube video of Josh (uploaded by smellyjw ) singing “Let Me Fall” in his collaboration with Cirque du Soleil from the Saltimbanco spectacular. To feel uplifted by the powerful vision and imagination that our species is capable of , this is all you need. If your head is in a wrong place, this will get it right.

From any angle, “Feel the fear, do it anyway” seems in keeping with upstream activity. It looks inconsistent with that other truth in my life, which is that everything we want is downstream. Are the 2 ideas then mutually exclusive? I think that they might be. How do you choose between your truths when they appear to be in conflict?

Feel the fear still works

I maintain that “Feel the fear, …” still has value. When I have overcome fear and tried something, the feeling of empowerment afterwards must be important. Perhaps it depends on your character, where some people get anxious if they’re not struggling against something; they will create a struggle

Once you become someone who is used to ignoring fear, actions that seemed upstream no longer are. Any action is suddenly not difficult. Doing things that you have no experience or aptitude with is no scarier than doing things you’re comfortable with. They just take a little time to be learned. Accepting that you won’t be perfect the first time, and there is no need or reason to be, helps overcome the fear that sits back at the entrance.

FEAR is not the Wrong Way sign

So if we eliminate fear as a truthful guide in choosing right actions because we’ve grown so used to ignoring it, then wrong actions feel wrong for a reason other than fear. Fear is not the reason to avoid doing some things over others. Fear is not the feeling to move away from when choosing right actions. Fear might be inherently more upstream, but it is not the relevant marker for choosing the right way so its upstream-ness doesn’t matter. It’s another type of feeling that signals the wrong direction.

Downstream is not idle

I am often too inclined to action, if only to stir things up a little when they feel stagnant. Many a time have I regretted it. Aging is a great teacher. It has taught me that the idea is not to remain idle while your personal force field pulls in what you want. Success will not come from sitting in lotus position willing what you want to come along but not sparking the fire. There has to be a catalyst, something that starts the chemical reaction.

The right action won’t be right because it’s easy or obvious. In fact, there will be times when what feels right seems entirely counter-productive. This is the Trust/Relax part. It is not ‘wait and watch’. It is saying to you “Do what feels right and stop writing up pros and cons lists”.

Keep shifting your position

Accept a partial answer that feels a little closer to where you want to go. It is a step on a path you’re being shown. Don’t refuse it because it isn’t perfect in every way. Let it in. Be vigilant and generous, because it may appear very unsuitable and strange.

Consider the crazier possibilities the most seriously. These are the shortcuts. Shortcuts by nature are off the beaten path. They can look hazardous and spooky, full of weeds and winds you’ve never felt. You can’t see the end, you enter by faith and trust and vision, ignoring caution. It is always a flight of the imagination the first time since there is no experience to draw from.

Telling right from wrong

I wish I could divulge the one word that describes the Wrong Way symbol. I don’t believe there is one. Your internal compass speaks to you if you can quiet all the noise and spend some time alone connecting with it. When Your Deeper Self speaks, you might feel surprised at how much calmer you feel.

The feeling is one of having been cold for a long time, and then suddenly feeling warm. A stress or a weight has been removed. Jerry and Esther call it relief, and of course it is that. It can also be surprise at the feeling of being released and at how wrong this direction must have been. For some, it is a thick fog that begins to clear.

Can you think of the feeling of trying so hard to remember something that you can actually feel yourself pushing it further away? And when you stop rummaging around for it, it just floats into your head? That is what upstream and downstream feel like.

Instead of trying to decide which path is the most wrong, which can’t be done because fear or common sense are not helpful, try looking at which feels most right. One will bring you a feeling of simplicity and comfort. It might not be sensible but it will feel undemanding, no matter its level of difficulty. It may require plenty of effort but the effort will be easily and willingly made. The tension will break.

Posted by Christine Scaman | Filed Under Happiness