Day 6 - How to Navigate Fear and Negativity (internal and external)
Speak with your own fears. Head on. Tell them they’re wrong. Little by little. This type of self love, this type of conversation will change your life. You are not alone. Truly. Believe me, please. We got this.
An important part of finding your inner voice is navigating through any fear or negativity you may experience, internally or externally. Fear is necessary for growth. It’s necessary, because without knowing what you're afraid of, you can’t confront your fears.
For me, fear is a way I can learn more about myself. If you can first acknowledge the fear you’ve already beaten it in a way. Fear, to me, is a lesson the universe is trying to teach you as it helps you bring more awareness to anything that makes you feel powerless. Fear squashes confidence which makes you question what you really need and want.
Fear affects my inner voice because if I’m afraid of something, I don’t want to confront it. When that happens, one or all of the following happens:
my inner voice gets muted in that situation
my inner voice is shifted or distracted from what is truly important in front of me because of the fear
my inner judge gets the megaphone
All of these results from fear take me away from my authentic self.
For example, my personal fear is my struggle with body dysmorphia. I’m an ex-bulimic so if my energy is low and if I've let my inner judge speak too harshly into my ear, my inner voice gets squashed and then I’m scared of food. It’s like feeding my inner judge all the power he needs. Fear really squashes down my inner voice from being able to maintain healthy thoughts about my physical body’s needs like eating nourishing food or hydrating. Fear is my inner judge's best friend but because I acknowledge that fear, because I confront that fear as often as I can, it dissipates, it disappears and soon my inner judge is muted and my inner voice is able to express itself and be free again. My acknowledgment of the fear helps my inner voice say, “nourishing food is nourishing food and it’s essential to the body and it’s delicious and if I want to have that treat I can because I deserve it, I can because life is about enjoyment.” Most importantly, you must move through the fear and not hide from it. It will help you understand yourself deeper.
Acknowledging if we speak to ourselves with kindness when fear or negativity are present is key! Sometimes it has to be out loud! I’ll say "NO EVA, I WILL NOT SUCCUMB TO THE FEAR.” I will also try going to the gym and working my body to distract myself physically. Releasing that extra block with endorphins is always helpful. Treating my body healthy truly helps me connect to my inner voice and fight against negativity. I’ve found yoga, reading and writing are my go-tos. These things make me truly happy and are ways my inner voice shines in the face of fear without saying anything at all. Also, being as creative as possible helps cleanse the fear and keeps the endorphins flowing in our bodies.
Keeping friends around that are "soul feeding" brothers and sisters is crucial too. I don’t know where I’d be without my circle. I’m extremely grateful to have these people encourage me to use my true inner voice as backup against tough situations that may arise. We’ll explore connection and finding examples of inspirational people in Day 10.
Negativity and fear will always be there in our lives as roadblocks. It is essential to our inner voice that we have the fearlessness to confront these experiences and thoughts head first and grow through the fear.
Listen
Exercises & Journal Prompts
Exercise to ease fear with creativity
Take a newspaper, old book or magazine article and try blackout poetry. Blacking out words that leave behind a string of words that resemble a poem that speaks to you.
Journal Prompts
Write five fears down and five things that really feed your soul.
Write down five gifts or lessons the fear is bringing into awareness or light. For example, “I am afraid of auditioning” could be really helpful to understanding that you care deeply about expressing through song. Perhaps the fear is asking you to find more ways to learn and grow as a performer and that is great information to guide you ahead.
Dream journaling! Without getting too mixed up in the translation of your dreams, sometimes we can easily point out patterns of what we dream of or have nightmares about and clarify our fears and our true essence through these interpretations and discoveries.
At Fit for Broadway, we create safe spaces online and in real life to learn and grow together. Fit for Broadway Online Workshops are meant to encourage connection within our community. Feel free to join our Facebook Group to share and connect with other participants. It is a great space to talk about your experience, connect with new friends, or ask questions inside the community space.
If you have technical questions, concerns, or feedback about this FFB Workshop, please contact: jane@fitforbroadway.com
Eva does not directly receive questions through the FFB Online Workshop portal so please direct all Workshop related questions or concerns to jane@fitforbroadway.com Please refrain from sending Eva questions about FFB Workshop technical support on social media or within other interactions. FFB is here to support you!
By creating an online account with Fit for Broadway, you have declared that you will not share this information or content in any form, online or otherwise. Sharing content will be traced and we monitor IP addresses to ensure online workshops are not being accessed on numerous devices. Not complying with this will result in legal action or deactivation of your account. Thank you for your integrity.
Non-professional disclaimer: Instructor is not a licensed health professional. Any advice given is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for advice from your physician.
Content Warning: This workshop content (video, written, audio) discusses body dysmorphia, eating disorders, and strong emotions. If you need help at any time, please call 1-(800) 931-2237 for the National Eating Disorders Hotline or 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.