[00:10 ] – Weston Jolly
Managing fear and anxiety doesn’t work, but this approach does. Right now, there’s a significant amount of fear being propagated. The reason is simple: fear sells. In moments of fear, there’s an instinct within you that drives action.

Understanding Fear

[01:13 ] – Weston Jolly
We observe this in advertising campaigns. You’ve likely seen an egg breaking into a hot skillet, followed by the sound of sizzling. The tagline reads, “This is your brain on drugs,” creating a stark connection between frying the egg and frying your brain. This makes you think, “This is real.”

[01:41 ] – Weston Jolly
A lot of people want you to feel afraid.

[01:46 ] – Weston Jolly
They aim to sell you their agenda, product, service, or idea. This allows them to control or manipulate you through fear.

Fear is Addictive

[02:02 ] – Weston Jolly
Let’s be clear about the essence of fear: it is addictive. It feeds on itself. Just one word, idea, or thought can start to grow, and soon you can feel it emanating from your solar plexus and spreading throughout your body.

[02:25 ] – Weston Jolly
Like any addiction, fear cannot be managed effectively. People who seek help in rehab programs, for example, may try to overcome alcohol addiction by counting days, weeks, or even years to manage their success. But ultimately, this approach fails.

[02:55 ] – Weston Jolly
We have plenty of examples illustrating this. So, while managing fear and anxiety doesn’t work, what does?

Biologically-Why You Can’t Manage Fear

[03:05 ] – Weston Jolly
Let’s delve into something important for your understanding. Biologically speaking, if I were close enough to you and blew in your face, you’d instinctively blink. This reaction is beyond your control and cannot be managed.

[03:22 ] – Weston Jolly
This is simply how your body is designed. When you recognize that all animals, including humans, have biological systems for self-protection, you’ll understand that you cannot manage these instinctive biological responses.

[03:44 ] – Weston Jolly
These include our eyelids, designed to protect our eyes, our skin, which envelops the entire body to maintain integrity, our nose, which filters impurities from the air, and our liver and kidneys that function to protect us and ensure safety.

[04:11 ] – Weston Jolly
If you think you can manage fear, consider the act of someone blowing air into your eyes. Trying to control your instinctive blink response is biologically impossible, regardless of your intentions.

[04:41 ] – Weston Jolly
When your brain’s amygdala perceives a threat, it reacts instinctively. The prefrontal cortex assesses whether the threat is real or how serious it is. Meanwhile, the hippocampus stores related memories, allowing us to draw on past experiences when future threats are perceived.

[05:14 ] – Weston Jolly
This creates a cycle of fear, sometimes about things we may not genuinely fear. Understanding your body’s protective design demonstrates the futility of trying to control fear or anxiety.

Fear and Anxiety: The What If?

[05:40 ] – Weston Jolly
Let’s clarify what anxiety is. Anxiety is the fear of an anticipated threat. It arises from the hippocampus, drawing on past memories to project future fears. Think of anxiety as stemming from the two words, “What if?”

[06:16 ] – Weston Jolly
For example, consider getting on a plane.

[06:20 ] – Weston