Fear is one of life’s most stressful and exhausting emotions. It’s such a strong emotion that it has the ability to break our hearts and spirits. Because of this, it’s important to re-train our brains to step away from fear, worry and negative thoughts. The easiest way to do this is by using affirmations for letting go of fear.
Here are nine affirmations to rewire your brain:
- “Fear is an illusion.”
- “Peace is my natural state.”
- “I am calm and at ease.”
- “I release that which does not serve me.”
- “I am not my emotions.”
- “I focus on the present moment.”
- “I was born for this.”
- “I cast out fear and invite in love.”
- “There is nothing that can get between me and my goals.”
Anxiety and Fear
It’s natural to feel overwhelmed when faced with a challenging situation, we all have a times of uncertainty, or a hidden fear of failure.
Likewise, trauma and grief are emotions that can leave us insecure and feeling like nobody can help us. but that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything about it, it only seems that way.
Fear is a terrible thing, it stops you from being your true self and enjoying everything that life has to offer.
The good news is help is at hand…
The Practice of Using Affirmations
Affirmations are positive statements that when used regularly, can reverse your debilitating fears. They effectively help you step out of the darkness of doubt and remind you that you’re a strong, brave individual that can take action to confront any issue.
Affirmations are statements that you repeat out loud to yourself throughout the day. They work by tapping into your subconscious, and help shift your mind from one that is constantly processing unhealthy thoughts, to one that is filled with positive thinking that will overcome your fear.
Take a look at this informative post about affirmations, and how they work.
Positive Affirmations for Overcoming Fear
If you are suffering from fear or anxiety, the challenge is to acknowledge your anxieties and have the courage to make a defining change today. Using Positive affirmations for letting go of fear will give you the powerful tool you need to feel stronger when tackling situations that bring about anxiety and fear.
Use this collection of positive affirmations to help you reframe your brain:
“Fear is an illusion”
Many of us have suffered from nightmares either as a child or in our adult lives. When you experience a nightmare, it’s as though you are watching a scary movie – the fearful and frightening events are unfolding before your eyes, and you are feeling those emotions of terror, but in reality, you’re not actually experiencing those things. Nightmares are just an illusion.
The same can be said about the fear you are experiencing – it’s only a mirage. If you are suffering from fear, chances are, you are afraid of something that might not even happen. Chances are, you are creating scenarios in your head that won’t happen. Remember that these thoughts are not real – they’re just an illusion.
“Peace is my natural state”
Consider this thought: you don’t have to be afraid because fear is not your nature. When people get used to experiencing anxiety or fear, they start to believe that fear is a personality trait, or that it is an essential part of their being. In reality, fear is only an experience. You have the ability to turn peace into your natural state.
One way to increase peace in your life is to take up a meditation practice. There is research that suggests that meditation can be helpful in decreasing anxiety and depression. This is because meditation allows you to focus on the present moment instead of what has happened in the past or what may happen in the future.
“I am calm and at ease”
This affirmation utilizes the idea of “faking it until you make it.” Though it may feel dishonest at first, try telling yourself that you are unafraid and that you are calm and at ease. As you work with this affirmation, you are likely to start believing it.
There are emerging theories that suggest that people who fake confidence or act confident despite their feelings may be more successful in the workplace than their peers. Following this logic, if you can convince yourself that you are not fearful, but rather calm, you may be able to develop these skills in your own life.
“I release that which does not serve me”
A huge part of the experience of fear is our attachment to it. There’s a distorted sense of confidence that comes with being afraid. We believe that the future will hurt less when we imagine all the worst-case scenarios. Though temporarily reassuring, this feeling is not sustainable.
What’s destructive about this feeling is that it sucks the life out of us. Instead of using our minds productively, we convince ourselves that thinking about stressors will prevent future pain. In reality, there is no way to prevent the future from happening – life is always unpredictable. What we must do to release this feeling is to simply release your grip on it because it won’t make your life any better.
“I am not my emotions”
When you become fearful, remember that fear is not a part of your makeup. You are a person with multiple talents and skills, with passion and dreams, and with intelligence. The pain that you’re experiencing right now through fearfulness is not a part of you, but rather something that you are experiencing.
Make this distinction very clear – you are not your emotions. You can experience your emotions, but your emotions are not in control. Rather, your intellect, your wisdom, and your mind are in control. It’s okay to experience small amounts of reasonable fear, but recognize that you are not a creature of fear.
“I focus on the present moment”
When we are fearful, we become focused on events that have not happened yet, or events that will likely not even happen at all. We get so caught up in thinking about the future that we forget to be present with what’s happening at this very moment.
Mindfulness is the ancient practice of noticing and focusing upon the present moment. By practicing mindfulness, we allow ourselves to let the past and future slip away and just focus on what we are experiencing in the “now.” Such mindfulness exercises have been proven to significantly reduce stress and anxiety.
“I was born for this”
This affirmation is helpful if you’re fearful over a certain event like a speech, presentation, or proposal. By affirming to yourself that you were born for this task, you can talk yourself out of fear. Tell yourself over and over again that you were created and designed to complete this task effectively.
This is another great example of the “fake it till you make it” mindset. We can use this affirmation to rewire our brains into a state of self-confidence.
“I cast out fear and invite in love”
This affirmation is helpful if you are a visual thinker. Instead of simply writing this affirmation or stating it, you can turn it into an image. Visualize your consciousness as a room. In this room, fear is represented as dirt or dust that you want to get rid of. Imagine that you are sweeping fear out of your heart, head, and home.
After you have visualized getting rid of the fear, now invite love in. You can visualize love as sparkling cleanliness, or perhaps vases filled with flowers. Replace all the fear in your mind with love and feel how much peace washes over you.
“There is nothing that can get between me and my goals”
This affirmation is perfect for helping you achieve success and may be the right affirmation for you if you are looking to become more confident in yourself and your talents. Pretend that you are the person you want to become and visualize yourself having already achieved your goals.
What does it feel like to have already achieved your goals? What have you obtained, and what emotions does it bring out in you? Keep this visual in your mind as you put in the hard work, and don’t be fearful of what might happen. Instead, get excited about your incoming success.
Summary
Now that you have these affirmations in your repertoire, it’s time to put them to good use. Write them down in your planner, post them on your bathroom mirror, and keep them at your desk. It’s important to place these affirmation statements where you will see them frequently. Another good idea would be to state them to yourself either upon waking or before falling asleep at night.
Eventually, you will be able to convince yourself that they are the truth, and you will become a less fearful person. I hope that these affirmation statements bring you peace and confidence when you most need it.
Sources
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health: “Meditation: In Depth”
- Psychology Today: “The Narcissus in All of Us”
- Psychological Science: “Fake It ‘Til You Make It: Why Faking Confidence is Actually A Really Good Strategy at Work”
- Wikipedia: “Mindfulness”
- American Psychological Association: “What are the benefits of mindfulness”