Wow.  It’s been awhile.

Sorry I’ve been gone and not writing for a bit, I had a lot going on over here in my neck of the woods and got caught up in it.

Just as a reminder, don’t forget that you can always go to the Fear of Driving Forum if you want to talk to others who share your fear and are overcoming it.   I’m there quite a bit myself and I love getting to know all of you on a more individual basis.  Just go to:

www.fearofdrivingforum.com

But enough about me, I wanted to make sure I had a extra good post since I’ve had plenty of time to ponder it, and guess what?  I do…

Today I want you to learn the “Golden Rule of Fear”.

Now you’re probably already familiar with the other Golden Rule, you know, “treat others how you would want to be treated”.   What makes that the “Golden” rule?  Well, I guess because so many questions can be answered by it.  It’s kind of like your “go-to” rule.  Don’t know what to do in a situation?  Golden Rule time.  Confused about what’s right or wrong?  Golden Rule time.  It’s a very simple sentence that you could spend a lifetime trying to live by.  It’s power is in its simplicity.

So it was a little bit overwhelming when I was trying to come up with a Golden Rule of Fear.  I’ve got some stiff competition.  That other one has been awhile.

But I did it.  The Golden Rule of Fear is deceptively simple, yet it contains all you really need to know about how to conquer your fear.  Now living by it, just like the other Golden Rule, is a different story, but this one sentence I’m about to tell you should be your “go-to” question whenever you feel anxious, panicky, or fearful.

Ok, ready?  Here it is…

“What would I do if I WASN’T afraid?”

Told you it was simple.  That’s the point, but before you click away, let’s look at it…

The Golden Rule of Fear helps you think more clearly when anxiety makes it difficult.  Let’s say you’re driving and come to a large bridge over some water that always makes you panic.  Your brain screams to get off at the next exit and avoid it, but another part of you isn’t so sure.  It’s just so darn hard to think straight when you’re anxious and conflicted…

But wait.

The Golden Rule.

If you weren’t anxious, what would you do?  Go over the bridge or get off and avoid it?

That’s right, keep on truckin’.

So you get closer to the bridge and you start to feel anxious…your stomach gets queasy, you start to sweat, your thoughts race…so you start to tighten your grip on the wheel, breathe fast and shallow, and drive super fast to get it over with.

Hold on a second…what about the Golden Rule?

You remember the rule and think what you would do if that bridge didn’t scare you.  You relax your grip on the wheel, slow your breathing, and slow down -just like it didn’t bother you a bit.  You stop all those anxious physical symptoms from making you feel worse.

Do you shut off the radio to focus on your anxiety and monitor your body for signals it will get worse?  Grab a cell phone to distract yourself and hide from your feelings?  Snap at the kids?  Feel weak or less than everyone else because of how you feel?

Not if you’re living by the Golden Rule.  Someone who’s not anxious doesn’t need to be hyper vigilant about a sensations in their body, the don’t need to distract themselves from their thoughts…just do whatever you think you would do if you weren’t anxious.

Simple?  Yes.  Easy?  Not so much.  But I guarantee you this, it will help you more than you could believe.  There’s a lot you can do about your anxiety, but a lot of it comes back to that simple sentence.  The problem with a lot of techniques for controlling anxiety is that in the middle of an anxious episode, it’s hard to remember and do.  The Golden Rule is eight words that can change your life.  Go tattoo them someplace.

Oh yeah, the other Golden Rule is a pretty good idea too.