In this episode of the Being Well Podcast we talk about facing your dreaded experience. Forrest and Rick talk about what scares us, where that fear comes from, and what we can do to work with our dreaded experiences and free ourselves from them.
Facing Your Dreaded Experience
We all have things in life that scare us. Some of us are scared of spiders, or earthquakes, or the dark – as Forrest was as a child. Most of these things we can push back against, or do our best to avoid. We can squish a spider – though I’m generally an advocate for trying to rescue them when possible – or we can turn on a night light.
Then there are other, more personal fears. Maybe a fear of vulnerable, open connection to another person. A fear that we aren’t worthy. A fear of putting ourselves out there, asking for what we really want, being seen by other people. Of shame, or anger, or even having things be still and calm inside ourselves.
Some fears can become so core to who we are, that we start to organize our lives around not having to experience them. These are our “dreaded experiences,” and they exert a quiet power over how we live our lives.
In today’s not-to-be-missed episode, Forrest and I explore those dreaded experiences. What are they, where do they come from, and what can we do to work with them or free ourselves from them?
Key Topics:
- 2:40: What is a “dreaded experience?”
- 6:40: The three step process of a dreaded experience
- 9:10: The critical distinction between “event” and “experience”
- 12:20: Forrest’s dreaded experiences
- 16:30: Normal avoidance vs. making yourself small
- 18:15: Where do dreaded experiences come from?
- 24:10: Starting to risk the dreaded experience
- 29:00: Ways to start safely facing fears
- 38:00: Identifying your dreaded experience
- 41:20: Being seen as your whole self
- 46:30: Our journey of growth
- 49:30: Recap of Facing Your Dreaded Experience
