One of the things I often see with new coaching clients is that they can have a pretty good idea what they want, but be totally confused and overwhelmed at the same time. This keeps them spinning in circles and unable to move forward. Some times they just have too much information to process, but more often than not fear is using overwhelm as a distraction to try and keep them from taking a risk.
Fear just wants to keep you safe, but it still thinks you are small and helpless like you were when you were hurt in the past. It doesn’t recognize that you have grown from your experiences and become more powerful.
When you want to move out of your comfort zone, take a risk or reach for a dream, fear senses danger and tries to keep you safe. The way it does this is by stopping you from moving forward.
When it’s usual tools of anxiety or worry don’t work it can get sneaky and this is when distractions come into play. If fear can’t get you to stop, maybe it can get you to move sideways.
It may try to distract you with:
- Entertainment – TV, books, social media, games, your phone etc.
- Eating, alcohol, drugs
- Shopping
- Creating drama or chaos in your life
- Work
- Feeling safe or secure with things as they are
But, the one way I see fear work most often with my clients is by keeping them distracted with overwhelming or conflicting thoughts. If it can’t scare them or keep them sidetracked in the physical world it will play with their minds.
My clients want to live on purpose and have beautiful ideas and sparkly dreams, but their minds are telling them yes and no at the same time. When they try to learn about how to make their dreams come true they often fall into information overload and a to do list a mile long. They don’t know how to process it all or where to begin. And then, their mind just starts spinning, making it almost impossible to move forward.
I’m so happy they contact me. I get excited by their dreams and can help them become really clear about what they want to create. We also work on simplifying, organizing and prioritizing the information so they can process it easily. We often explore where the fear came from and how to move through it with ease and grace. And then, I get to witness their stepping into their purpose and bringing their dreams into reality.
Can you relate to their experiences? Are your dreams on hold and your life not the one you feel meant to live? Are fear and distractions keeping you stuck?
Hopefully, reading this perspective will bring awareness to what might be holding you back and help you move through it. Awareness is always the first step.
Keep your eye out for distractions. They may be more than they seem and the key to bringing clarity and action to your purposeful dreams.
If you would like additional support and are interested in hiring a Professional Life Coach who is certified, caring and experienced, I would love to talk to you. Simply send me a message here.
Related Posts:
Fear and Anxiety: Making Friends with Your Lizard Brain
Your blog is always right on point with what I’m thinking. Thank you.
You know what they say, Great minds….
Nice article, I think we all have a little fear in what we are doing that will affect others. We want to get it right. I have found that if I just push on, if I do have to make corrections later it is easier than not doing any thing at all.
So true. That’s how it was when I began blogging 10 or more years ago. I decided my goal was to help people and if my posts looked a little rough, that was okay.