The Grasshopper came up with a new description of fear: “Reacting to ‘what ifs’ instead of what is.”

There’s certainly enough fear going around these days but much of it is generated by reacting to what isn’t happening vs. what actually is.

Fear is almost always future based. “What will happen if . . . ?” is the operative mindset.

We project ourselves into the future but feel the fear now. That means even if what we fear does happen, we feel it way more than once.

We all fear but we can mitigate the frequency by focusing on what’s happening with us right now.

When we pay attention to what’s right in front of us, it keeps us from skipping over the present to fear the future.

Get in the habit of staying present. Even when doing routine things like washing you hands, pay attention to the experience: the feel of the soap in your hands, the warmth of the water, the feel of the drying towel, the sound of the water going down the drain.

When you give more attention to the present, you leave your future in the future and leave fear nothing to feed on.

Fear is a signal to pay attention and take some action. The action most needed is staying present.

There’s enough scary stuff to keep us fearful for a lifetime. But if you want to turn down the internal noise, pay more attention and you’ll regain your poise.

All the best,

John