4 Steps for Turning Fear of Change into Productive Energy

I have been invited to speak at a seminar produced by Skills 4 Living, a non-profit org that supports low-income families to prepare to raise their income and improve their situation in life.  They asked me to speak to the fear of change.  Frankly I was not sure I could speak on this topic, not sure I had a story to tell that would matter to the participants.  But I believe in the program and decided to see if I could write a story and a process that would help people face the fear of change when they attempt to grow in their lives. I am so glad I said yes!

As I wrote the story, I was able to look back at my life and see the numerous times that I took risks to grow and how well I had been supported by spirit to change and grow.  Not only that, I also discovered 4 steps that I have always used to face the fear of change and to help me go through the time of tension and terror that always accompanies a change in life. The 4 steps are easily remembered by using the word FEAR.

1. Feel the emotion of fear, tension and anxiety. Don’t avoid, just be still and feel it fully.
2. Express it out of your body.  Scream, cry, dance, act, paint or write it out of you.  Keep expressing until you get still and peaceful.
3. Accept it.  Accept that you are changing and that you are taking a risk and that you can’t control the outcome.  And ask for help, pray and meditate.
4. Remember the vision of what you saw was possible you had when you decided to change, recall the impulse that excited you and caused you to take a chance.