While this list is extensive, it is most certainly not exhaustive.

Spiders, bees, dogs, sharks, snakes, asking for a raise, being late for work, quitting a job, disagreeing with a boss, disagreeing with an authority figure, being fired, losing money, making money, forced retirement, early retirement, not being able to retire, work/life balance, starting a business, running a business, asking for the sale,

Learning to dance, public speaking, the dark, flying, heights, public bathrooms, car crashes, swimming,

losing our home, losing our kids, losing our spouse, being homeless, starvation, missing the bus, asking someone on date, telling someone “no”, being physically attacked, being physically close, trusting someone we know, trusting someone we don’t know, trusting ourselves,

showing emotion, being perceived as weak, being perceived as not perfect, being criticized, being embarrassed, aging, being overweight, being underweight, being ugly, being “average”, getting lost, the flu, getting vaccines, not get vaccines, cancer,

Being told “no”, being told “yes”,

Shady politicians, government, terrorism that strange neighbor, travel, different beliefs, different religions, different skin color, different opinions, different motivations, being rejected, being demoralized,

Pollution, climate change, household chemicals, tap water, meat, dairy, processed foods, pesticide,

any uncertainty, and… Posts like this!

While not an exhaustive list, I feel this captures what many people will recognize, and in many cases, know the feeling of experiencing them. The discomfort, the worry, or the sheer panic that can be elicited.

To varying degrees, a lot of these fears are valid,

Some being immediately life threatening,

Some threatening over the course of time,

Some in our control to change

Some not in our control to change

And others, only threatening because we allow them to be with the stories we tell ourselves.

With so much to fear, so much risk and worry to keep our minds spinning…..two questions

1.How do we find time to take a step back and question the validity and degree of accuracy for each fear?

2.What is the true impact to our health, wealth, and relationships as a result of not being more clear on real versus perceived threats?

I invite you to share your thoughts in the comment section below!