LIVING IN FEAR

Handling fear is as easy as 1-2-3!

Part II

[Both parts necessary to get the full scope, so please read Part I first. Just go to https://doctorzest.com/social-relationships/ to see full list.]

 

“Previously, on Doctor Zest…” – A quick review…

So, you are afraid…

I am also afraid.

And here we sit in our fear.

~..~

But the fact is, afraid or not, if you are alive you must do something next.

You always must do something next.

The question is, “WHAT am I going to do next?”

This is a constant question in our mind. Not always are we conscious of it…but it is still there.

What am I going to do next?

As we stand, sit, lie HERE, we (you and I) have decided to take a stand:

What I do next will happen by deliberate choice.

 

Our first step in the “Easy as 1-2-3” approach was knowing this opportunity even existed for us:

Existence, based on choice-making  VS.  A non-choice-based auto-pilot existence

 

Second step: Knowing you have a choice about what happens next.

 

Which leads us to the 3^rd Step: WHAT shall we choose to do next?

So, you are aware you are sitting watching TV. (1^st Step)

You are aware you can choose to stay sitting there watching TV OR choose something else to do. (2^nd Step)

Third step: What are we going to do next with that choice about what to do next?

We agreed that the first answer we must come up with is, “Shall I keep doing what I am doing?”

This is a huge moment.

Especially if you are sitting in fear, and you are doing things to make it WORSE.

Why in the world would we want to keep making things worse?

Good question:

Some answers:

1. a) We did not know we had a choice (but now we do!).
2. b) Bad habit. Let’s face it, the news leads us to believe that to be current and up to date we must feast ourselves on the topic of the day over and over again. That is being “informed” right? Up to a point, sure, but you and I know that we usually keep watching CNN long after we got the message. And then we watch more and more of the same stuff until we cannot breathe…we are having a panic attack!
3. c) Everyone is doing it/talking about it. Yep. Sure. They are petrified. But it takes two to carry on a conversation. You could just say, “You know, I am on overload on this topic, can we talk about something pleasant for a bit?”
4. d) We are addicted. Ouch. It hurts to admit. But self-pity is at the center of every addiction. And the problem with self-pity is you cannot do it enough so it is satisfied. It always wants more and more until it gets so painful that you need some form of anesthetic, like alcohol or other drugs, or food, or some other form of addiction. The ONLY way to get out of the self-pity trap is to NOTICE IT and STOP doing it. It’s a challenge, I admit it. Self-pity is like a runaway train perpetually going downhill…you may stop it – but as soon as you let up on it, off it goes again, like a maniac.
5. e) You are a masochist.( But YOU aren’t, are you? So, we can forget that one.)

But if I missed any reasons why a person would keep on indulging in toxic thinking, you let me know, OK?

 

So, an old Buddhist monk and a young Buddhist monk are on a walk together. It’s raining. The young Buddhist monk cannot shup up about it. “Can you believe it? Another rainy, rotten day! It just rains and rains and is muddy all the time and the sun never shines, and I’m cold and miserable and…

And about that the time the old Buddhist monk slaps the young Buddhist monk and says, “Would you stop walking through my mind with your muddy feet?”

~..~

Now back to the matter at hand.

Next, we will talk more about WHAT to do next and, also, HOW to do that next thing effectively.

 

Meanwhile: Starve that monster out of your life by not feeding him!

~..~

Want to have a handbook that will always help handy? Kill Stress Before It Kills You!

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