The Power of Now

This is an age-old concept that most philosophies throughout history taught. However, it is something that is overlooked by the average person. Most people spend the majority of their time mentally in a different place.

Fear and guilt are the two emotions that people experience. When we have fear, we are projecting forward. And, of course, guilt occurs when we project backwards. Therefore, if you want to eliminate fear and guilt from your life, just stay in the moment.

It is impossible to experience either when you are mentally "present". Go ahead and try it. Try to experience fear while focusing solely on the words written here. Do not let your mind leave for an instant. If you are able to do that, you will notice that fear cannot exist. However, if fear did creep in, you must have thought about something in a future time. This is the magic of our minds. It can create feelings within us which occur at a different time.

The common thread, whether projecting forward or backwards, is negative. For these emotions to exist, one must look at the situation and determine that something "bad" is going to happen. Let me ask you a question, if you projected forward positively, do you think you will experience fear? Of course not.

We have power in this moment. This is the time that I can act. I am completely powerless over a situation in the future as well as anything that happened in the past. I cannot change any of those events. The only thing I can do is to adhere to the action I take in this moment. Naturally, it might have some impact on a future time, but the action is now.

The power of now is where life is found. It is also where all the magic in the world is located. The greatest achievers in history were able to accomplish things in the moment. Mastering the twin forces of guilt and fear is as simple as remaining at this place. There is an old saying. keep your head where your feet are. This is as accurate as it gets.

Do you want to change your life? Begin by living this moment right now. Do not think, worry, or consider anything that happened in the past. It is gone and cannot be changed. The only value to the past is to learn the lessons which can be utilized in the future. At the same time, give up fearing the future. Do not consider any time other than this moment. If you can do that, you will master these two dehabilitating forces.
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Overcoming Fear II

We spoke of the power that fear can have on us. In many situations, fear is actually the force which is in control. People allow this to stand between them and their dreams. It is sad how something that does not exist can exert such influence.

There are many strategies which help in overcoming fear and getting us to take action. However, there is one which I believe trumps all the rest. Follow this simple idea and you will be able to take action in any situation.

This involves asking one simple question: "what is the worst thing that could happen in this situation?". Come up with the answer to that question and prepare for that event. If you are prepared for the worst case scenario, then you will be able to handle whatever arises. This is a technique those who are trained in crisis management utilize.

When working with salespeople, I often find they are fearful of prospecting. The fear of rejection has the power to paralyze. This simple technique works wonders in this situation. I ask them what is the worst that happens. For example, in telephone prospecting, the worst thing that could occur is for that person to hang up (perhaps after saying a few berating words). The next question is, what would you do? Hang up the phone after hearing the dial tone is the most likely answer. Not the end of the world.

We can take this same principle into the world of dating. Many are scared to approach a person of the opposite sex for fear of being rejected. Another example: what is the worst that can happen? She can laugh and say no. Okay. Learn how to deal with that response and take action. Anything short of that will be a piece of cake to deal with.

You see, we can apply this to all fears that we have. What is the worst that is going to happen? Often we have this idea already in our head. Therefore, prepare for that outcome so that you are ready. Then, if it does happen, you can handle it.

An interesting sidenote to this technique: if you prepare for things that do not occur often enough, you will find that you tend to stop the negative thinking after a while. It takes effort to continually prepare for dire situations which never occur. After a while, one sees the insanity of his or her own thinking. The mind is playing tricks on us. Fear is just a technique for control.

Try this mind trick the next time you are fearful about something. The first couple of times you might want to write it down. In fact, keep a journal just to monitor what really happened. Note the situation, what you think will happen (worst case scenario), and your plan for dealing with it. Also write down what occurred after the situation is resolved. This will give you a record of what your mind is doing. It wont take you too long to see how fear is used to make decisions for you.
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