Beating Burnout, Finding Balance

CHAPTER 6ON FEAR AND TRUST

Operating out of fear is very taxing on our energy systems and can be a contributing factor to burnout. Fear can make us procrastinate, preventing us from creating changes in our life, and it can hold us back from realising our full potential. Just like thoughts, when we turn towards our fear, we can better understand what is creating the fear and we can develop a better relationship with it.

In this chapter, I'd like to share a story about turning towards fear and also give you some techniques to embrace fear as a positive emotion to move forward in life. We will also explore the concept of trust as a way to flip your fears.

Kathmandu, Nepal

Something was wrong. Our usually friendly, smiling guesthouse host, Dillu, didn't even look up to greet us as we headed out to the streets of Kathmandu's tourist hub, Thamel, to buy our morning chai and breakfast. This was our first morning back in Thamel since completing a tiring but amazing 15-day trek in the Himalayas and all we wanted was a hearty breakfast and a warm chai tea.

As we walked out onto the street, Kila, my travelling companion, turned to me and said, ‘Something is not right; it's too quiet.’ Usually, the first sound we heard as we walked out of the Yeti guesthouse was the hypnotic Buddhist prayer, Om Mane Padme Hum, from the corner CD shop, which played it on repeat, but on this day there was no music. The mood on the street was sombre. The usually bustling shops and street vendors had their ...