Fear Fighters

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:2

Fear fighters.

In our last post we shared some thoughts on fear, how it can often catch us off guard and send us to the ground before we even have a chance to fight back. Just like being in the path of a horse in flight can send us reeling, so can our fear.

Well, as someone that’s been knocked to the ground both literally, and figuratively–would you permit me to share a few things that have helped me? 

Actually, let’s make it a top ten. So here goes, my top ten fear fighters to combat fear when we’ve fallen, when we feel frozen and have forgotten how to fight: 

  1. Renew your mind. This is #1 for a reason, in fact, I would suggest all that follows are different ways to help “change the way you think.”  One of the problems for me with the world we live in is that there is a lot of “junk” out there, and if we take it in, we have to work to get it out. For me, this is best done with Scripture. This can be as simple as starting my day by reading my Bible, or as tedious as recognizing all the negative self-talk, half truths and “junk” that’s going on in my head and challenging it all by replacing it with the truth I find in Scripture. For example, rather than thinking, “I am not good as they are, I just can’t seem to get it right” replacing it with “…we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew…” (Eph 2:10)
  1. Practice Gratitude. Rather than thinking of all the worst case scenarios, complaining, and having a general negativity about life, be thankful instead. Negativity fuels fear, so try to regularly rehearse your blessings. I know it’s not easy to feel thankful when you’re in the fear fight, but distracting with positivity will help redirect your thoughts.
  1. Be ruthless about what you allow into your mind. The news is pretty much off limits for me. It’s often very doomsdayish and I just can’t handle a lot of that. Also, using entertainment for learning new skills, study, and connection rather than procrastination, escaping, and counterfeit connection is important. For example, rather than using social media to compare myself to all my “friends,” I’ve done things like join livestock/gardening/hobby groups so most of the posts I see help me learn about things instead of “following” what everyone else is doing. 
  1. Exercise. Doesn’t need to be vigorous, just a walk outside will do. Breathe. At one of the worst times of fearfulness for me, I caught myself holding my breath all the time. Simply spend some time walking outside–ie. get some fresh air and enjoy the beauty of creation. This is one of the many practical reasons why we have animals–they get us outside everyday. 
  1. Listen to positive uplifting music. Make yourself an uplifting playlist. Be discerning about the messages behind the music, you want things that build you up, not reinforce negative thinking. I also try not to rely on the radio too much as it can bombard you with ads and breaking news and that can be counterproductive. 
  1. Focus on the present. One of the most obvious ways I do this is by taking pictures. It forces me to slow down and get lost in the simple, exquisite beauty all around me. Some other ways you could do this is to sit down and enjoy a nice meal with your family, or a cup of tea with a friend, or sit and enjoy some time with your favorite pet. Walk amongst your herds and flocks, get lost in your garden. Savor the simple things. 
  1. Be Creative. Just do it. Seriously. Please stop holding back on that DIY you’ve been wanting to try or that new skill you’ve been wanting to learn because the outcome will not be Pinterest Perfect. Just do it. Dive in. I can pretty much guarantee that you will not do it perfectly, but I will guarantee that you will grow as you try new things. If we were created in the image of God (and I believe we were), and he is the ultimate Creator, you can be sure we were made to create too. While we usually rely on a visual understanding of creativity, some are creative in the way they solve problems, or prepare food, how they organize, or even how they engage with people. 
  1. Stop Overthinking. Some people might call me a deep thinker, others might call me a chronic overthinker. Rather than focusing on all the details, instead ask yourself, “What’s the one thing I need to do next?” And once that’s done, do the next thing. Then the next. You will have made a lot more progress doing one little thing at a time rather than procrastinating because you have no idea how you’re going to muster the motivation or energy to do the whole thing. You can also try choosing 1-3 things you’d like to accomplish for the day. Accomplishing a few important things is a lot better than overwhelming yourself with a page long to-do list and either stressing yourself out or feeling like a failure because you couldn’t do it all. 
  1. Avoid Perfectionism. Stop procrastinating because you can’t do it perfectly. Let me give you an example. One person in our household will notice that we are out of clean hand towels. They will then proceed to gather the dirty handtowels and do a load of laundry–of just handtowels and we will now have clean hand towels. The other person in our household will know that a load of towels needs to be done, but not do it because there is a towel in the upstairs bathroom that has not been collected. Rather than just doing the load of towels that includes all the dirty towels except for one, the whole load sits dirty for who knows how long because the whole perfect dirty load has not been collected. Perfectionism leads to procrastination. 
  1. Stop People Pleasing. People pleasing for me is really about pride, and according to Proverbs, it will lead me to destruction. For me it’s all about keeping others’ thoughts about me what I want them to be, and oftentimes, breaking my neck to make sure I can keep up. Being genuine and authentic is a lot more honorable, and desperately needed in this social media driven, often unrealistic world than trying to look good in front of others.

Have you struggled with fear in these trying times? Has it paralyzed, prevented, or prohibited you from doing the things you used to do, the things you want to do, or even the things you know you were meant to do? 

It’s important to know that these fear fighters will not eliminate fear, nor will they keep you from experiencing it. Renewing your mind is key, and that takes time. But it’s our hope that some of these ideas will resonate with you and be a help to you in this “new normal” that we’ve come to know.

What about you? What are some of your favorite fear fighters? We’d love for you to share your tips and let us know if any of these resonated with you! 

Until next time, 

BLESSED & BELTED

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4 thoughts on “Fear Fighters

  1. Joyce Wilkins

    Good strategies and thoughts… Keep writing, you’re doing a good job of putting all this into readable and workable words.

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