“I think I’m going to throw up..” was the thought that crossed my mind as I saw the towering waves come crashing towards me. It was the first time I tried surfing, and my fear and anxiety were at an all-time high. In reality, the waves weren’t that big nor were the conditions that dangerous, but it felt scary to me at the time. It was unknown.

After a particularly rough and near-drowning surf session, I was ready to call it quits. But then, forgotten words from a sports psychologist I worked with during my ice skating years came to mind:

“To let fear run wild is a choice. You decide if you stay fearful or if you’re actually excited. Use fear to fuel your excitement and focus.”

In those days of being a competitive ice skater, I faced fear on a daily basis performing at a high level and dealing with overwhelming pressure. Her words stayed with me all these years, and it reminded me that my relationship with fear could always be within my control.

Over the course of the last few years, my resistance and fear of surfing started switching over to excitement (possibly, full-blown obsession). What was once scary was no longer a concern, and I am able to push myself into bigger waves now. Fear certainly still comes up, but the switch to excitement happens more quickly.

This didn’t just affect my surfing. My exercise in transforming fear allowed me to see other parts of my life differently. I was no longer afraid of making bold business steps, or pushing myself into situations I was once too shy or fearful of. In fact, Re:Boot Experiences would never have existed without building up my fear/excitement switch.

If you’re currently letting fear rob you of your joyful future, here 3 ways to trick your brain to transform your fears into action:

1. Transforming Fear is a Choice

Scientific research has shown that fear and excitement are actually very closely linked. In fact, according to your brain, there is very little psychological difference between fear and excitement. The only difference? Your mindset and what you decide to tell your brain. With that said, there is a difference between fear-fear and fear-excitement… one is actually life-threatening (oncoming traffic) and one is just a perception of fear (fear of failure). You’ll know the difference.

• Try this: Next time you feel butterflies or nerves kick in, don’t let fear take over. Take a deep breath and tell yourself (even aloud), “I’m excited”. Combine this mantra with actually smiling to connect a both physical and verbal cue to send a message up to your brain that “all is fine, this isn’t fear…it’s excitement!”

2. Anticipating Fear Activates Your Reward Centers

Here’s where it gets interesting. Studies also show that if you learn to anticipate fearful situations, you activate the brain’s reward centers, and fear becomes more excitement and enjoyment. This explains when you feel excitement instead of terror on a roller coaster or watching a scary movie. It’s about feeling like you know what’s coming.

• Try this: If there’s something you’re afraid of doing, make a list of all the worst-case scenarios. Write every single nightmare that could happen if you went for through this scary step. Next to each worst-case scenario, write reasons why the worst won’t happen, how it’s actually not that bad, or how you could potentially learn from it actually happening. You’ll soon realize that your fears are either not justified or serve a purpose for you. In this reframing of fear and addressing the “monster in the room”, you’ll start to feel excited by the challenge.

3. Practice Switching Fear to Excitement

Can you train for fear? I believe, yes. Like any new muscle (in this case, neural pathway), the more you train and practice, the more effective your mechanism to transform fear. The frequency is key, as it can make the conversion faster with time.

• Try this: For the next week, anytime you feel fear welling up inside, make the verbal/physical cue to make the switch in your brain. If that doesn’t work, go through the “worst-case scenario” exercise above. Try to practice making the switch at least once a day with any kind of fear that comes up. It could be sending that email you’ve been putting off for fear of rejection, booking that course you’ve been scared to try, asking for that pay raise for fear of being shut down, etc.

I invite you to share what fear exercises you’ve been working on! What is one small thing you’d like to try but you’re currently afraid to? What are ways you can start to increase your exposure to this fear? Is it taking something big and breaking it into small steps and moving through it despite the fear? Is it practicing failing over and over again?

I’d love to hear how you’re doing with your fear experiments! Drop me a line at hana@rebootexperiences.com .