The blog post below outlines my three-step technique to managing fear.
This was originally published on my travel blog, chickonthechookchaser.com, in 2015 while travelling through Indonesia. 

For those of you who think that a girl travelling solo on a motorbike is like a fearless pirate, blindly attacking every obstacle with a run-up, sword high in the air, yelling “Arrrgggg”… I’m sorry to crush that idea.

In actual fact, fear is part of my daily existence. There is a little bit of fear in every action, every step, and every kilometre. From the fear of getting sick by eating street food, to running out of water, to the bike breaking down, to being scared to have an accident. Other times I’m scared I won’t find a place to sleep or decent food. Or I fear having to go to the toilet and there is no toilet paper… Actually in most places in Indonesia there is no toilet paper, just water, your left hand, and soap. There is no point in fearing this, I’m better off accepting reality here!

Anyways, back to the point, the question really is what am I actually scared of? It seems to me that what I’m actually scared of isn’t something outside me. Not the food, not the sleeping arrangement, the traffic, the no-toilet paper, the rain, the cold, the heat, the flat tyres, the breakdowns… No, in reality, what I’m actually scared of is not being able to cope with these situations.

Let me say that again, I don’t fear running out of water, I fear not being able to cope with running out of water. So basically I’m scared of my own possible inabilities.

Now this gives me something I can work with. I mean, there is no way I can change the traffic or the heat, but what I can change is my thinking and my behaviour towards it. Are you still with me?

Here is my three-step technique for how to manage fear

First, I’m changing my thinking
from: “OMG what am I going to do if….!!!! I can’t deal with…!!”
to: “Whatever comes my way, I believe I can deal with it”.

Second, I check in with myself with regards to the reality and acuteness of my fears. Take running out of drinking water for example. When travelling through remote areas I can make sure to carry a multiple days worth of water. Other times, in densely populated (read: there is someone trying to sell something every 50 meters) areas I know I can always buy more water.

Third, it also helps to assess the worst case scenario and some possible solutions: “If I run out of water somewhere far from any store I can ask locals for drinking water or find a creek and use my water filter or put water in a see-through bottle and kill the bugs using sunlight or create some sort of Bear Grylls contraption with plastic bags around leaves or….”

Taking these three steps in approaching fears gives me peace of mind and the freedom to really enjoy my travels.

On top of that, it builds my confidence muscle. It provides me with the belief that I can save myself in every possible scenario. This in turn creates a more clear headed approach when I do find myself in precarious situations. And, with every issue that I face and solve my confidence grows.

So, instead of choosing between fear or fearless, I choose to fear less. To rationalise my thoughts and change them if necessary, and to believe in my own competence and problem solving skills. This choice to fear less has gotten me to places I otherwise wouldn’t have been and it is making this trip more amazing each and every day.

If your fears are holding you back from living your dreams, just give this three-step technique a go!

You never know where it could lead…

The post What travelling the world solo taught me about managing fear first appeared on Chantal Simons.

Sounds familiar?

The grind

The hustle

The 9 to 5 to pay the bills and the 5 to 9 to work on our own business, up-skill, make more $$, or in some cases, simply complete the job that doesn’t fit between the 9 to 5 cut-off.

There is nothing wrong with this in principle… but this attitude tends to ignore a vital point.

Have you ever achieved one of those goals that initially looked unachievable? And if you have, how fulfilled did you feel when you did? How long did the positive feeling stick around for? Personally, I remember finally completing my Masters degree, a goal that for the largest part of the journey seemed like it would never be achieved. Did I feel overcome by joy? Did I feel ecstatic for weeks on end and convinced that my life was finally complete?

Nope, quite the opposite. With a sigh of relieve I shrugged my shoulders and said something along the lines of “Phew, thank god I don’t have to worry about that anymore”. I then kindly asked my Mum to collect the accompanying piece of paper while I jumped on my motorbike and set of for the trip of a lifetime.

During that journey from Australia to the Netherlands, my goal was to reach the Netherlands. But, low and behold, after 15 months of crazy adventures I reached the Netherlands and it was the greatest let down of the whole trip. I reached my end goal, but again it was empty, devoid of joy or fulfilment.

By now you must be thinking: “Sure sure, that’s all good, but what is your freaking point woman!”

So here it is: The point of setting goals is not to achieve them.

The point of a goal is to get you moving.

You set the goal to embark on the journey.

To get you out of bed in the morning with enough excitement to be doing whatever is required of you that day.

The journey to the goal is the point of the goal.

All the juice is in the journey. It’s in the joy, the struggles and the skills you learn along the way. It’s in the people you meet, the places you see and the lessons you learn.

So my advice: Don’t just set yourself big goals. Instead, plot yourself a journey that you will love to travel along, to a destination that is exciting enough to overcome the challenges along the way.

The post The juice is in the journey first appeared on Chantal Simons.

‘I’m too busy to go to yoga this week.’

‘My life is a mess, I’m on the brink of a meltdown so I really don’t feel like going to this friend’s birthday party.’

Or, my personal favourite; ‘I’m already juggling too much, there is no way I can work on this passion project that I have been dreaming about for years’ (I’ve caught myself red-handed on this one before).

If this sounds even vaguely familiar, order your thoughts to a halt. Seriously, tell them to STOP NOW and not move until further instructions.

Here is why. Being busy is not what drains your mental energy. Your energy gets spend doing the things you have to do, or the things you don’t like to occupy your mind with.

Working long hours, or work occupying your frontal cortex long past the hours you are payed for, family issues, bills, the leaking tap, your car needing a service, the fight you had with your partner last night…

Yes, all of this costs energy. It makes your life busy. It taxes your mental resources at the highest tax bracket, and, if you let it, it will stop you from doing what you are passionate about.

And that is exactly why I ordered your brain to a grinding halt. Too often our days are chock-full with stuff we have to do. Towards the evening we feel so tired from completing all our have to’s that we just curl up in a little ball and watch tv until our physical exhaustion has caught up with our mental exhaustion and we can go to sleep.

Next time this happens, drag your sorry ass of the couch. Come up with something you love doing and do it. It can be anything from quilting to writing a blog post on a topic you are passionate about. It can be taking an online course or slowly building a side business/passion project.

No matter how busy, tired or down you are, prioritise time to do what you love. BY DOING WHAT YOU LOVE, YOU RECHARGE YOUR MENTAL BATTERIES.

So go out and run, sing, dance. Find time to do yoga. Attend your friend’s party and connect with inspiring people, or slowly chip away at your passion project. It will motivate you, inspire you, clear your head, give you purpose, and connect you. It will recharge you and improve the quality of your life 10-fold.

Especially do it when you are feeling crap. When it feels like life has beaten you down and you see no way to get back up. Do what you love doing, it will recharge you and the energy will radiate through to the down-dragging parts of life.

Go charge those batteries and find out what you are really capable of!

Love, Chantal

The post The energetic laws of doing what you love first appeared on Chantal Simons.