Finding Peace with Fear

January 12, 2017 by John Andrew Williams

Earlier this week I was leading an 2.0 Coach Training session on the science of learning. The session was straight forward: look at an activity, such as learning to play the guitar or speaking Spanish, and apply the theory of learning.

What happened next was absolutely fascinating.

Fear popped up.

Fear of not being able to accomplish it.

Fear of not being good enough.

Fear if we try our hardest and fail, then what?

It popped up in the group demo session.

It popped up in the smaller breakout sessions.

It popped up in the debrief.

And when one of the participants brought it up – thanks Laura Noble! – the insight took me by surprise

.It seems that whenever we’re looking to do something that our hearts year for, fear lurks in the corners and sometimes comes front and center.

Fear tries to keep us safe. It’s built in, deep within our psyche. Making peace with fear is central to doing your life’s work.

On the training session, when I could literally hear the moment that emotions of fear transformed into peace through coaching, I felt like I was watching magic happen.

Which leads to the real question that I’m thinking about today.

The question for you:

What system of support – partners, friends, coaches, or classes – do you have to transform fear into peace?

The question for the movement of bringing coaching skills to the world:

How can we get more people to experience the journey of making peace with fear to do their life’s work?