Getting Free From Fear, Part III
Two Kinds of Fear

Article that appeared in The New Leaf ™.

W. Timothy Gallwey and Robert Kriegel give an entire chapter to the subject of fear in their book, Inner Skiing. They posit two kinds of fear, Fear 1 and Fear 2. Fear 1 magnifies danger and vulnerability while minimizing your sense of competence. Fear 1 is False Evidence Appearing Real.

Fear 2 mobilizes your whole being for effective action. It includes a series of marvelous physiological changes that prepare the body for peak performance. Fear 2 focuses attention, provides adrenaline for extraordinary effort, and sharpens perception. Fear 2 promotes effective action, Fear 1 paralyzes us and prevents action.

In Part I of this series on Getting Free from Fear, I invited you to list your fears. Now, you have the opportunity to return to your list, and to sort your fears by type:

1. Fear 1.

2. Fear 2.

3. Not sure, or includes aspects of both kinds of Fear.

If you have not yet written a fear list, do so now. Writing down your fears is a powerful step toward managing them. Until you write them down, they are like so many vehicles in gridlock. Once you have them on paper, you can park some and move others, clearing a space for forward movement. In this way, writing down your fears creates a space for awareness and choice. (Tip: Refrain from judging yourself or your fears. Just list them.)

Once you have a list, notice where Fear 1 and Fear 2 show up. The following distinctions will help:

Fear 1 promotes panic and confusion. Fear 2 promotes clarity and purpose.

Fear 1 is often about saving face. Fear 2 is about stepping outside of your comfort zone.

Fear 1 triggers avoidance of the facts. Fear 2 heightens awareness and perception.

Fear 1 wants you just to stop. Fear 2 wants you to move forward powerfully and safely.

Fear 1 magnifies danger and vulnerability. Fear 2 calls on our capacity to respond to danger.

Fear 1 originates in our ego mind. Fear 2 is a whole-system response.

Both kinds of fear are present in many situations. What is important is to use your powers of assessment and discrimination to turn down the volume on Fear 1 while calling on Fear 2 for the energy and focus to move forward. With practice, you can actually transform Fear 1 into Fear 2 by focusing and accurately assessing the real risk and your real competence.

For example, Fear 1 makes a terrified skier (and I speak from experience!), see a shear drop where the slope is actually quite moderate. When the skier stops and measures the actual slope by holding her pole parallel to it, she increases her awareness of actual conditions, reducing the influence of Fear 1. By continuing to examine the slope, seeing in her mindís eye how she would ski the slope if she chose to, she further reduces panic. When at last she takes off down the hill, trusting in her competence and in her assessment of the challenge, she completes her shift from Fear 1 (panic) into Fear 2 (concentrated exhilaration).

Learning to work with fears in this manner takes practice. The pay off is potentially unlimited as you remove barriers to learning, performance and joy.