Fear and Peak Performance
When dealing with the concept of “peak performance,” fear is the first thing that must be addressed. Performing your best entails getting out of your way. Whether it’s performing in sports, on stage, in sales, in academics, or simply in life itself, fear stops precise, focused action. Fear is the root cause of all negative emotions and behaviors. Procrastination, limiting beliefs, and self-sabotage are thought processes rooted in fear.
The two main fears are fear of failure and fear of success. Most other fears, like fear of public speaking, performance anxiety, or cold call reluctance, can all be traced back to these two main performance fears.
Fear will stop you from performing at your peak and paralyze you. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” is a quote from Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This is an incredibly powerful statement about the power that fear exerts over all of us.
So, what about fear makes it such a powerful emotion? Its power lies in our instinct to survive. That primal part of the brain, the limbic system, sounds the alarm, and then a cascade of neurological activity follows. The fear response is based upon our memories, experiences, and learned fears from the past. However, worries and anxieties will be out in the future. So obviously, since it helps us to survive, we need it, right? Yes, we need fear as a call to action when something dangerous to our survival happens. However, as FDR so succinctly stated, fear is also something to be feared. The problem lies in too much fear. Unrelenting chronic fear that is based on the possibility of danger causes stress and is derogatory to our health and well-being. It creates high levels of stress hormones, and that creates disease and other problems. Also, unrealistic fears or phobias can take control of our lives.
So, what can we learn about fear? It is rooted in the past and can be triggered by worrying about the future. But in the present moment, there is no fear. If we stay in the present, release old memories and fears from our past, and cease focusing on the possibility of negative outcomes in our future, the fear dissipates. To achieve this, we must alter our thought patterns. We need to regain control over our emotions, as fear is an emotion that often runs rampant. By understanding this process, we can start to take steps toward overcoming our fears and achieving peak performance.
If you let circumstances control you when good things happen, you will also allow fear and negativity to rule your life when things are not going well. If things are in a negative place in your life, then thinking that your life is great is a delusion. When things are going well in life, and we spend our free time worrying about what might happen to change our life for the worse, that is also deluded thinking. People who tend to be on an “emotional rollercoaster” are an example of too much focus on momentary success and not enough on the process or the overall desired outcome.
Using hypnotherapy to move past fear is the best way to move forward. All types of fears can be alleviated using hypnosis.
