Managing your Fear

Whatever you do, never panic. Always remain calm. Fear, when unmanaged can only harm you. Think of your fear like a guard dog. You trained this beast to protect yourself and your property. A good guard dog is also trained to recognize the difference between it's master and an intruder. If the dog is not trained properly, instead of providing safety for it's owner, it could instead do harm by mistaking it's owner as a threat. Your fear is also this way. It must be able to distinguish between true threats and false ones.

Fear and Risk

Fear is a natural alarm built into our bodies to help protect us from danger. When properly tuned, this internal device can be used to protect us and save us from injury or death. If, however, this device is not tuned correctly it may malfunction and work against us. This is where proper risk management comes into play. Most danger can be calculated and dealt with using only observations and mental process. The feeling of fear should only become important when proper mental navigation fails. To assess the risk in any situation you must examine each factor and how dangerous it truly is according to your ability. For example, when faced with a terrorist attack, the initial response may be to panic and start running. Running in the wrong direction, however, may draw attention to yourself and lead you into danger. To manage the risk take these 4 steps:

1. Stop and observe your surroundings. What is happening? Where is the threat coming from? How much time is there? Where is it safe?

2. Assess the danger. What is most dangerous about this situation. what is least dangerous? What fear is rational and what is illusion?

3. Look for openings. Is there a way out? How can you minimize your risk of harm? Where is it safe? Are you safest where you are or should you move? Devise a plan to escape or somehow avoid the harm of yourself or others.

4. Action. After all things are considered you are ready to take action. Move as slowly as possible. If you must move quickly, do so with caution. You must not let fear make your decisions, but instead be deliberate and conscious in each step.