This blog post is mostly about the video blog today. I am in the midst of refining the specific ways I’m working the tool set of Fear Mastery, and this video blog post is another step in that direction.
(BTW, I say at the start of this video that I’m putting two video posts up today – but in fact I put up one video with my blog entry at the start of this week, and this video is #2.)
But I also wanted to quickly let you my faithful readers know that I’m kicking it up a notch with the blog. Here are my New Year Resolutions for Fear Mastery:
1) I’m really, truly ramping up the blog entries to two times a week. Today’s post is the first installment in that commitment. It will probably vary in form from week to week, but what I’m thinking right now is I’ll do a written post and video post, then later in the week do another video post.
2) I will make the written posts shorter, I swear it! 
It is very tempting to try and completely cover a blog topic in a single post (at least it is for me), but it can also make for long and sometimes cumbersome reading. So I’m committing in 2012 to keeping the posts to no longer than about 1100-1200 words. (I have been averaging 2000 – holy crap!)
A Couple of Questions for You, the Readers
Lastly, for this entry, I have some things I’m wondering about, and I’m hoping you’ll let me know what you think, either here at the blog or by email:
1) Would it be useful to anyone here if I created a Twitter Account and posted some quick Fear Mastery thoughts/reminders/suggestions, 3-4 times a week?
2) Would a Facebook Page be something that would interest you folks? It could be a place where we can trade notes about personal challenges, progress, places we’re stuck, and shared experience. I am in the midst of designing a website where there will be forums for that same purpose (including by mid-summer live chat for folks to have real-time conversations) but this might be a test run/intermediate step.
Next Up
As promised last post my next several blog posts will cover the specific issues we face when we confront our Comfort Zone fears – those fears we’ve been carting around for (usually) years, or even decades – the fears that are usually the most resistant to us taking them on and pulling them apart.
Have a good weekend Fear-Busters – remember, we have (literally) nothing to fear but fear itself – and with a little work, we don’t even have to be afraid of that.
6 comments
Comments feed for this article
January 5, 2012 at 4:15 pm
dyanavalentine
Lighting is REMARKABLY improved on the video. I am game for more/shorter posts. Not really engaged in Twitter for following ongoing stories/info delivery—but do have direct conversations there. I can’t take one more place on FB to follow. DO love and support your work, however, and love the new work in video. I suggest the same editing on videos as on posts: shorter is ideal (and I KNOW the steep hill of getting a vid under 3 minutes) and do the same thing you did here, set expectations (time frame/word count/post frequency), deliver, say see ya later. You are a gorgeous gift to the world. Thank you for doing this work.
January 5, 2012 at 4:39 pm
Erik Kieser
Thank you for both your feedback and the kind words Ms. Dy.
Lighting is an ongoing learning process for me. Easier actually to BE shorter in the video posts – just need some practice being more terse in my final cut. I get the whole too-many-pages-on-Facebook thing – one of the reasons I asked. Thank you again!
January 5, 2012 at 7:52 pm
Aaron
I second shorter blogs, especially when I am in a slump and feel tired and fatigued. I sincerely do want to absorb everything, but I am guilty of not finishing some blogs because I am not simply up to reading on my computer when I feel blue. Also, I am not very active on FB or Twitter too much (unless to drop a quick hello), but that’s just me. I love the videos- by far my favorite of your communications. Thanks for everything Erik! God bless!
January 6, 2012 at 3:05 pm
Erik Kieser
Thank you for this feedback Mr. Aaron! I promise shorter blog posts in 2012!
January 7, 2012 at 12:36 am
Natalie
Erik,
Great video! It’s amazing because for the first time in 14 years, I feel like I’ve finally met someone who is putting into words exactly what I need to read and hear!
I’ve tried the medications–like you, it didn’t help–just made me numb to the world, but not to the anxiety & it did NOT work on the airplane (I took the full dose of Xanax plus the Celexa and STILL stopped the plane from taking off). Tried NLP hypnosis–my brain didn’t let that work–too protective. Tried “just facing it” and that didn’t work. I did move, and it seemed to help a little (basically a good distraction), and then the last 2 pregnancies kind of brought it all back–especially the past 3 months. Being tired, not eating right, not exercising sure does bring on the fear! That’s how I ended up on your site.
As far as your questions, I don’t get on facebook very often–it’s mostly just to keep contact with old friends. I don’t Twitter, either, but as long as you cover the same things in the blog or your future site, I can enjoy it. I do like forum sites, and I look forward to joining when you are ready.
Ps. As far as the length of the blogs and video—I have the same problem, if you haven’t noticed! LOL
January 7, 2012 at 3:50 pm
Erik Kieser
Really appreciate that you took the time to share this story with the blog. I get concerned that people will hear me saying that I think medications are a waste of money and time. They are definitely not that! They can do useful things WHEN we are working to face through our fear/anxiety, mostly by giving us some mental and emotional breathing space.
What they can’t do is make our worries and fears vanish. It is our thinking that gets us in trouble in the first place, and it is clear and useful thinking skills that will get us out of trouble. I see the same thing with all the people in the world who take sleep aids to get some rest, when the real problem is all the stuff they’re worrying about in their thinking. Ugh! I’ve known people (and know people) who are taking larger-than-recommended dosages of one or more sleep aids in a desperate effort to GET SOME SLEEP – when what they really need is to get clear on what they’re obsessing over/worrying about/afraid of, and then get those fears and worries converted back into problems.
Thank you for the feedback on the questions from the last blog post as well!