My anxiety tends to visit me when I feel most vulnerable and uncertain about my future. It lingers during the day, keeping my heart beating faster than usual and my body on edge. My jaw tightens and my shoulders hunch.
When the moon comes up and the evening starts to set in, my anxiety grips my chest and keeps my thoughts racing through extremes. I’ve lost my ground and I’m doubting every decision I’ve ever made.
A familiar feeling, I start to control my breath, taking long conscious breaths. I slow my thoughts and try to be present in this moment. Not somewhere in the future, not rooted in the past. But here right now, where I am safe.
No one ever tells you that bravery feels like fear.
Mary Kate Teske
Behavioral finance defines loss aversion as a cognitive concept where a real or potential loss is perceived to be emotionally more severe than an equivalent gain.
For example, the pain of losing a certain amount of money is far greater than the joy in finding the same amount.
Starting a new venture requires risk and with this a sense of loss aversion and big fear. At the age of 35 and without a consistent steady flow of income from a corporate job, I have had to face the challenges of building a business but also self-doubt and anxiety. I have to balance my fears whilst also making confident, clear decisions that will hopefully pay off in the long run.
The balance between perspective:
What if I fail (loss aversion)
But
What if I can concentrate on the potential gain and put all my efforts into making this business as successful as it can be.
How big fear manifests:
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- Anxiety
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- Attachments (comfort eating, people, drugs, alcohol)
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- Fight or flight response
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- Avoidance (isolating, procrastinating, day dreaming, scrolling on phone)
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- Depression
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- Difficulty concentrating
How we can face fear confidently:
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- Acknowledge where our fear stems from – Write down or draw how you feel and recognise what thoughts keep you stuck on the anxiety loop. Aim to create an action plan that gives clear steps and more certainty.
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- Practice a loving, kindness meditation – Click here for meditations.
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- Light exercise each day – View our open access videos.
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- Shift your thoughts – In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, there is the phrase ‘Pratipaksha Bhavana’ which translates to ‘opposite cultivation’. Whenever negative thoughts race through your mind, try to conjure the opposite views. Instead of trying to control our external environment we have to work to alter our internal perspective.
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- Listen to soothing playlist. Check this playlist out on Spotify.
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- Focus on your breath and the present moment. Breathe in – “I am”, breathe out “here”
You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.
William Faulkner
Recognise that any type of uncertainty or risk is challenging the ego and moving us into discomfort. Fear keeps us safe, but fear can also keep us stuck. When we face uncertainty with steadiness and equanimity to whatever may come our way, we can be brave and see things clearly. We can make conscious decisions despite our loss aversion tendencies and go confidently in the direction of our hopes.
To get lost is to learn the way.
African Proverb
