Fear can be an ever present, incapacitating emotion that prevents you from completing the simplest tasks. Or, it can be a rare occurrence out of nowhere, catching you at just the wrong time. It can also present itself as a background anxiety just below the surface that you can’t put your finger on. Big or small, fear can impact every facet of your life from your career, to your health, to your relationship. Many people have come to the Option Institute to overcome fear, learn more below.
How Does Fear Affect Our Lives?
Fear is one of the most fundamental manifestations of unhappiness.
And yet, we have a seemingly conflicted relationship with fear. On the one hand, there is not a person alive who is not well-acquainted with the intensity of this emotion. On the other hand, fear is a highly criticized emotion – much more so than, for instance, anger. We use words like coward, yellow, chicken and wimp to refer to people displaying fear.
How the Option Institute Can Help
Although many people judge fear, we do not. In fact, although we help our participants learn how to overcome fears, at no point are we critical of their fears or phobias. Why would we criticize people for trying to take care of themselves?
It seems that most of us tend to judge what we most hate to see in ourselves. This is ironic, considering most of us view fear as something that comes upon us without our say-so.
At the Option Institute, we see countless examples of people whose fears have debilitated them. We see even more examples of those for whom fear, while not totally incapacitating, is at least a constant, ever-present hindrance. And while many talk of controlling, managing or facing one’s fears, few speak of fear as something we can choose to discard, like an old coat.
We believe that discarding your fear is not only possible, but doable on a day-to-day basis. Although it may sound preposterous, we choose fear as a strategy to take care of ourselves. We have been systematically schooled to use this strategy from a very young age.
How We Overcome Fears
How does this work? We are taught – and consequently adopt – perspectives which fuel fear. How many times have many of us heard that fear keeps us from doing something stupid or dangerous. It is as if, without our fear, we would walk headlong into danger and behave in an imprudent, unwise manner. We are also taught to view the world as hostile and our role in it as precarious. So, on both a macro and a micro level, we adopt and hold beliefs which precipitate a fearful and phobic experience.
We can teach you how to not only uncover these fear-generating perspectives, but to change these beliefs – and, consequently, banish the fears and phobias they produce. In fact, Thomas A. Richards, Ph.D. of The Anxiety Network International, writes in “Panic Disorder: What You Fear the Most Cannot Happen,” that working with people cognitively (i.e. dealing with how people think, which is what we do) has been shown by research to be the most effective means of dealing with fear and anxiety problems.
So many of our participants report that our process of uncovering and changing fear-fueling beliefs has far-reaching benefits for them. Indeed, our programs can assist you in tearing down the self-created cages that may have restricted you and held you back from living your life to the fullest. We can help you to overcome fear.
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FearlessCalm Amid ChaosE-LEARNING COURSESPersonal Stories – Letting Go of Fear
I came here a fearful child, knowing there was a key to the mystery of finding my true self. I arrived and changed my name to ‘Fearless’ in the hopes of becoming what I most wanted. As the days came and went, I was asked to leave my old character behind and all the role playing that came with the part. As I did so, I did not know what new character I would become. Then I realized I wouldn’t have to find a ‘character’ to role play . . . I could really be my true self! I am eternally grateful for leaving here a fearless grown-up.
Alejandra A.
Wife, Mother, Entrepreneur, Texas
I felt desperate when I arrived at The Option Institute, totally immersed in fears that I wasn’t good enough and that people would always reject me. I was exhausted from trying to keep going in the face of constant fear. During this week, I saw underneath the wall of fear to a warm, loving, bubbly, quietly humorous me that people were attracted to! I learned to relax within myself, to enjoy myself and others and remarkably, to feel excited and happy about facing people and events that terrified me when I arrived. I can’t thank the Institute enough for the joys of this week-the love, the laughter, the learning. I’m so happy to be going back to my life. Hugs to all of you.
Judith E.
Programmer, Canada