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I like to think of my subconscious mind as a little child. It gets scared easily. There are times when it thinks the situation is dangerous when it really isn't. But I can't tell it that. Instead, what I've realized over time is that I have to take that little child by the hand and gradually expose it to the danger to show it that it's actually okay.

This is known as graduated exposure therapy in Psychology. If you have a fear or anxiety that's taking control of your mind, you want to gradually expose your mind to the thing that causes it. For people who are afraid of heights, for example, that means you start by looking at a ladder from 20 feet away. Then you approach the ladder, getting closer and closer to it. That might take several days. Over time, you start to realize it's okay, so you can get closer to that ladder without the feeling of dread. Finally, you reach the ladder and touch it. That might have taken you a month to be able to do. And so on, until you've been able to climb the ladder without the feeling of dread.

I like to think of my subconscious mind as a little child. It gets scared or anxious easily. There are times when it thinks the situation is dangerous when it really isn't. But I can't tell it that. Instead, what I've realized over time is that I have to take that little child by the hand and gradually expose it to the danger to show it that it's actually okay.

This is known as graduated exposure therapy in Psychology. If you have a fear or anxiety that's taking control of your mind, you want to gradually expose your mind to the thing that causes it. For people who have a great deal of anxiety with regards heights, for example, that means you start by looking at a ladder from 20 feet away. Then you approach the ladder, getting closer and closer to it. That might take several days. Over time, you start to realize it's okay, so you can get closer to that ladder without the feeling of dread. Finally, you reach the ladder and touch it. That might have taken you a month to be able to do. And so on, until you've been able to climb the ladder without the feeling of dread.

Mike Tyson famously said he felt like a wreck before every fight. His fight trainers spent hours before a fight trying to talk him through it and calm his nerves. The way he ultimately dealt with it was to just say, "Let's go!" when the time came. He would become angry and more focused on winning his fight and just put all of his heart into it.

You can do that by doing something that requires your attention. Bounce a ball. Hit the punching bag. Skip rope. Go for a run or a walk. Listen to music. Watch a movie. Go for a swim. Solve a puzzle. Beat on some drums. Bike. Climb. Compose a poem. Do some gardening. Lift weights. Go on a trampoline. Etc.

Mike Tyson famously said he felt like a wreck before every fight. It was so bad for him that he would be in tears crying. His fight trainers spent hours trying to talk him through it and calm his nerves down. The way he ultimately dealt with it was to just say, "Let's go!" when the time came. He would become angry and more focused on winning his fight and just put all of his heart into it.

You can do that by doing something that requires your attention. Bounce a ball. Hit the punching bag. Skip rope. Go for a run or a walk. Listen to music. Watch a movie. Go for a swim. Solve a puzzle. Beat on some drums. Bike. Climb. Compose a poem. Do some gardening. Lift weights. Go on a trampoline. Etc. Mike Tyson said what often worked for him was having sex.

You can do that by doing something that requires your attention. Bounce a ball. Hit the punching bag. Skip rope. Go for a run or a walk. Listen to music. Watch a movie. Go for a swim. Solve a puzzle.

You can do that by doing something that requires your attention. Bounce a ball. Hit the punching bag. Skip rope. Go for a run or a walk. Listen to music. Watch a movie. Go for a swim. Solve a puzzle. Beat on some drums. Bike. Climb. Compose a poem. Do some gardening. Lift weights. Go on a trampoline. Etc.