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How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
Benefits of Mindfulness: Mindful Living Can Change Your Life
Mindfulness 101: A Beginner's Guide
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Hi, and welcome back to your Daily Mindfulness. In today's session, we're going to talk about working with fear. Fear is something we've all experienced. It's a very normal and primal part of being human. And it's something that can keep us safe and protected from harm by helping us focus on things that could potentially go wrong so that we prepare and take action.
And it's also something that can get in the way of living our lives as fully as we want to. Despite the many ways, fear can be frustrating, I've really come to appreciate this emotion of fear and the loving intention behind it. It's trying to protect us. It's trying to serve us in some way. Even though it may be misguided at times, it, it wants you to be happy, which in its mind is to help you survive.
So I think simply starting by appreciating fear helps us have less of an oppositional relationship to it so that it there's an opportunity, at least for it to become more of an ally rather than an enemy. The thing about fear though, is that just because it's, there doesn't mean we can't do the thing that we're fearful of. I'm sure you've had many examples of that in your own life. So I'm going to share four simple steps that you can use when fear arises so that it doesn't have to overwhelm you and prevent you from living a full life. The first step is just to feel it.
This may feel simple, but a lot of times with difficult emotions, we try to suppress them or pretend they're not there. But this actually causes them to subconsciously influence us in a negative way. And so when we bring the emotion into our awareness, when we bring fear into our awareness, acknowledging its presence, letting ourselves feel it, this actually takes away a lot of its power because you can now work with it rather than be subconsciously manipulated by it. So the first step is just simply to feel it. The next step is to name it.
So once you feel it, just say, Oh, Hey fear, good to see you again. There's a lot of research that shows naming an emotion, reduces its control over us and it's emotional charge. So, we feel then we name it. And by doing that, it's no longer this mysterious thing in the background. We know it for what it is.
We've brought it into our awareness. The third step is to reground and you can think of this as like being a lightning rod. The fear is coming through you activating your body, but then rooting you down into the ground, moving through you. This helps you not deny the fear by letting it move through you, and then also ground yourself simultaneously through it. So we feel it, we name it.
We ground ourselves into it, ground ourselves through it. And the fourth step is just to go. This is to take the step in the direction toward whatever it is you want to do in that moment. This might feel simple again, but it's an important reminder that you can still move forward. Fear is just an emotion.
It's just an energy in your body, and it's important to retrain yourself to not move away from the fear, but to move into it and then through it. Condition action in response to fear, let it be your trigger to move forward. And the more you do this, the easier it will be. So again, the first step is just to feel it. Second step is to name it.
Third step is to ground yourself into it. And then the fourth, the fourth step is to go. Try this out the next time you're experiencing some fear, then I think you'll find it helps you take action and not have to be controlled by the fear itself. Thanks so much for your practice and let's settle in for today's meditation.
Working With Fear
Personalized support for learning how to integrate mindfulness into your life. Delivered fresh everyday by our world renowned experts. Choose meditation duration:
Duration
Your default time is based on your progress and is changed automatically as you practice.
Hi, and welcome back to your Daily Mindfulness. In today's session, we're going to talk about working with fear. Fear is something we've all experienced. It's a very normal and primal part of being human. And it's something that can keep us safe and protected from harm by helping us focus on things that could potentially go wrong so that we prepare and take action.
And it's also something that can get in the way of living our lives as fully as we want to. Despite the many ways, fear can be frustrating, I've really come to appreciate this emotion of fear and the loving intention behind it. It's trying to protect us. It's trying to serve us in some way. Even though it may be misguided at times, it, it wants you to be happy, which in its mind is to help you survive.
So I think simply starting by appreciating fear helps us have less of an oppositional relationship to it so that it there's an opportunity, at least for it to become more of an ally rather than an enemy. The thing about fear though, is that just because it's, there doesn't mean we can't do the thing that we're fearful of. I'm sure you've had many examples of that in your own life. So I'm going to share four simple steps that you can use when fear arises so that it doesn't have to overwhelm you and prevent you from living a full life. The first step is just to feel it.
This may feel simple, but a lot of times with difficult emotions, we try to suppress them or pretend they're not there. But this actually causes them to subconsciously influence us in a negative way. And so when we bring the emotion into our awareness, when we bring fear into our awareness, acknowledging its presence, letting ourselves feel it, this actually takes away a lot of its power because you can now work with it rather than be subconsciously manipulated by it. So the first step is just simply to feel it. The next step is to name it.
So once you feel it, just say, Oh, Hey fear, good to see you again. There's a lot of research that shows naming an emotion, reduces its control over us and it's emotional charge. So, we feel then we name it. And by doing that, it's no longer this mysterious thing in the background. We know it for what it is.
We've brought it into our awareness. The third step is to reground and you can think of this as like being a lightning rod. The fear is coming through you activating your body, but then rooting you down into the ground, moving through you. This helps you not deny the fear by letting it move through you, and then also ground yourself simultaneously through it. So we feel it, we name it.
We ground ourselves into it, ground ourselves through it. And the fourth step is just to go. This is to take the step in the direction toward whatever it is you want to do in that moment. This might feel simple again, but it's an important reminder that you can still move forward. Fear is just an emotion.
It's just an energy in your body, and it's important to retrain yourself to not move away from the fear, but to move into it and then through it. Condition action in response to fear, let it be your trigger to move forward. And the more you do this, the easier it will be. So again, the first step is just to feel it. Second step is to name it.
Third step is to ground yourself into it. And then the fourth, the fourth step is to go. Try this out the next time you're experiencing some fear, then I think you'll find it helps you take action and not have to be controlled by the fear itself. Thanks so much for your practice and let's settle in for today's meditation.
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The little talks before the meditations are priceless. It's like I've found my peeps. The topics, the quotes, the goals—it all makes so much sense to me, things I want to be thinking and learning about. Most importantly, the meditations are kindness-centered, which I love. It feels like a new way to approach meditation.
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Incredible, easy to navigate app. I would highly recommend this app to anyone who wishes to reduce stress and anxiety or simply as an aid to improve overall mental health.
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I love how the app gives me pointers to new things to explore.
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Better than Headspace. I've had the paid version of both apps, and I must say I enjoy this one better.
- Gina, Plus+ Member
Vidyamala’s tips on catching anger as it’s happening or about to happen are great - clear, practical, and doable.
- Vicoir
The little talks before the meditations are priceless. It's like I've found my peeps. The topics, the quotes, the goals—it all makes so much sense to me, things I want to be thinking and learning about. Most importantly, the meditations are kindness-centered, which I love. It feels like a new way to approach meditation.
- Lauren
Incredible, easy to navigate app. I would highly recommend this app to anyone who wishes to reduce stress and anxiety or simply as an aid to improve overall mental health.
- Kirtus
I love how the app gives me pointers to new things to explore.
- Lydia
So calm and soothing. I love the new bundle with Kelly Boys, she’s brilliant!
- EJ
Better than Headspace. I've had the paid version of both apps, and I must say I enjoy this one better.
- Gina, Plus+ Member
Vidyamala’s tips on catching anger as it’s happening or about to happen are great - clear, practical, and doable.
- Vicoir
The little talks before the meditations are priceless. It's like I've found my peeps. The topics, the quotes, the goals—it all makes so much sense to me, things I want to be thinking and learning about. Most importantly, the meditations are kindness-centered, which I love. It feels like a new way to approach meditation.
- Lauren
Incredible, easy to navigate app. I would highly recommend this app to anyone who wishes to reduce stress and anxiety or simply as an aid to improve overall mental health.
- Kirtus
I love how the app gives me pointers to new things to explore.
- Lydia
So calm and soothing. I love the new bundle with Kelly Boys, she’s brilliant!
- EJ
Better than Headspace. I've had the paid version of both apps, and I must say I enjoy this one better.
- Gina, Plus+ Member
I am very new to meditation, and am so happy that my first introduction to it has been through this app
The first session was fantastic. I feel safe. And supported. Almost like having someone helping me through my difficult time. I’m very grateful for this app.
- Babi
You get a lot of useful tips for handling stress and anxiety in 'real life'.
- Joy
Highly recommend.
- Humanfrst
Kelly Boys is hands down the best. Everytime I click on one of her guided meditations I get excited for the calmness that lies ahead.
-
I am very new to meditation, and am so happy that my first introduction to it has been through this app
The first session was fantastic. I feel safe. And supported. Almost like having someone helping me through my difficult time. I’m very grateful for this app.
- Babi
You get a lot of useful tips for handling stress and anxiety in 'real life'.
- Joy
Highly recommend.
- Humanfrst
Kelly Boys is hands down the best. Everytime I click on one of her guided meditations I get excited for the calmness that lies ahead.
-
I am very new to meditation, and am so happy that my first introduction to it has been through this app
The first session was fantastic. I feel safe. And supported. Almost like having someone helping me through my difficult time. I’m very grateful for this app.
- Babi
You get a lot of useful tips for handling stress and anxiety in 'real life'.
- Joy
Highly recommend.
- Humanfrst
Kelly Boys is hands down the best. Everytime I click on one of her guided meditations I get excited for the calmness that lies ahead.
-
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