Facing Your Giants (2) By Dr. Michael Brooks

This week we will continue my article on Facing Your Giants. First, let’s look at what causes some of the giants we face. So my question for you today is: what are the Giants you’re facing and need help confronting today? You may have one or several Giants that control you; over the next several weeks, we’ll address several of them you may be facing. First, I will share with you one of my biggest Giants: Abandonment. I was raised in a military family, and we moved worldwide. We never stayed in one place very long, and it was rare that you would make any real friends because you’d soon move to another base. My parents were always at officers’ parties in the evening, and my sister and I were dropped off at the babysitters on the base. As soon as my sister and I found out that another night was going to be spent at the babysitter’s, I would beg not to go. I was only six years old and remembered feeling abandoned by my mom and dad. That was a painful childhood memory and stayed with me until I finally dealt with the problem. So, I’ll sit back and reminisce and ask myself, what are the Giants I have stored in the back of my mind and want to get rid of? I knew I needed help and wanted to have a clear conscience. So what are your giants, and what are your next steps to deal with them?

I will cover the ones I know personally and have helped my clients deal with in a one-on-one counseling/coaching session. Let’s talk if you relate to any of these and want to come to some resolution in eliminating them. I have some great idea’s on how to resolve them. Don’t let your Giants hold you back from becoming all you can be or do. Let’s look at these Giants and how to deal with them.

Fear, what are you fearful of? Fear can hold you back in many ways. It can prevent you from moving forward in your family, life, and work. Here is a definition of fear: an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain or a threat. Fear has many names and strikes many of us at all levels. The fear of death is very real for most people, especially people over the age of 60 years old. When I talk to people about death, I ask them what is their biggest fear, believe it or not, dying alone! I am a pretty positive person, and I ask them about family and friends and do they have close people in their lives. Then I ask them about their health, are they exercising and eating right? I give them a talk about how they can improve their health by living a healthy lifestyle. Fear of death can be looked at in a logical way, and solutions can be found if only you focus on finding answers. . Next week we will continue the article facing your giants and see if any of the giants you face are ones others face as well.

Do you need help in overcoming the giants of your past? Do you struggle with memories of broken relationships, illness, self-worth, and confidence? What are the giants that you currently face and need help defeating them? Giants can be debilitating and keep you from enjoying life and successful life. Call Dr. Mike, and he can help you through the process of taking your giants head-on and help you to move forward with your life. Why live in a defeated and hurtful past when you can enjoy a stress-free present and future?

Dr. Michael Brooks is the founder of Applicable Counseling and life coaching Services. It is affordable, accessible, anonymous, and available by appointment from the privacy of your home. To avoid travel time and the comfort of home, many clients prefer to meet with Dr. Mike over the phone or via Zoom (if you want to Zoom with Dr. Mike, send him an email at mbrooks3353@gmail.com to set up an appointment). The convenience of this type of Counseling/Coaching is the most effective means of Life Coaching for those who live outside of Colorado. Give Dr. Mike a call at 303.880.9878! You’ll be glad you did!

Living in Fear (3) By Dr. Michael Brooks

Don’t let fear over take you!

Facing Your Giants (7) By Dr. Michael Brooks

The Giants of failed relationships can be hard

Do Not Take Counsel From Your Fears (2)

By Dr. Michael Brooks

This week, I have some tips that will help you deal with the fears you face each and every day. It will take some work on your part, but you can overcome your fears if your willing to move forward with your life.

Here is my acronym for fear: False Emotions Appearing Real. It makes sense if you read into it. Fear, for the most part, can be false, it hardly ever happens, but in our minds, that’s a different story. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying that 90% of the things we worry about never happen, and the same goes with fear. Fear can cause all kinds of health issues such as headaches, stomach issues, heart palpations, and difficulty in breathing. It does have physical and emotional side effects.

You need to take control of your fears, have a plan when you face your fears and put it into action

Have you ever had a fear that was so crippling that you avoided going to work, to a social gathering, or even calling someone on the phone? This fear whether real or imagined can be disabling to so many.

So what can you do about the fear you face from day to day? When you feel it starting to crop up into your life, it’s best to deal with it immediately, don’t sit on it, hoping it will go away. Once you can identify your fear, starting looking at it and decide if it’s real or imagined. If it’s real, then start planning next steps on how to deal with it. I suggest write it out on your writing tablet, what is the fear, who is involved in this fear, is it you or other individuals? Plan next steps and stick to the plan. If phone calls are part of the plan of dealing with it, make the calls a priority. It’s easy to blow those off and plan on making your calls later. Usually, phone calls get to the issues pretty quickly, and it’s much easier to call then to set up a face to face meeting. I like calling people; I can be myself and get to the point pretty quickly. Have the questions you want to ask or discuss written out before your meeting by phone or in person. Take notes during your conversation if by phone, otherwise mental notes if in person. I think most people would prefer meeting by phone; I know I do.

Here are some of my tips to help you deal with the fears you face:

• Identify what your fears are and understand why they affect you
• Your plan should take immediate action, is your fear real or imagined?
• Stay with the plan once the fears start showing themselves
• If the fear is real, then look at solutions and fixes for the fear you’re face
• If the fear imagined, then examine the reason your dwelling on this fear
• Don’t give up stay the course; failure is not an option
• Remember not all fears are bad, they can be healthy too

If your fear is imagined, then you need to be able to sort through why you’re thinking the way you do. Many of the imagined fears are a result of past bad experiences that have not been dealt with. For example, a child who has had divorced parents and one of the parents was scheduled to pick the child up and doesn’t show and it’s a habitual pattern; this will cause a child undo fear of being abandoned. As a parent how would you deal with this? There are many ways, but having an alternate plan is most helpful. As an adult many of us face imagined fears; the loss of a job, thinking our spouse is cheating on us, that we’re not good enough, we’ll be alone for the rest of our lives, etc. 

Here is another acronym of fear, and it’s one that I use when encouraging people dealing with fear: Face Everything and Rise. In this day and age, it’s not easy to face our fears, real or imagined. Life can be hard and unforgiving at times. Our faulty thinking can be the root of our fears and anxiety. There are tools to combat our fears, first, realize our thoughts and began to look at them and challenge them, that’s when you begin to win the battle over the fears that you face.

Are you holding on to your past fears and can’t experience joy in your life? Do you still hold on to fearful memories and your future seems hopeless? Do you want to be free of your Fears so you can have a wonderful future? If you answered yes to any of these questions, give Dr. Mike a call at 303.880.9878. He can help you with relationship problems.

Dr. Michael Brooks is the founder of Applicable Counseling and life coaching Services. It is affordable, accessible, anonymous and available by appointment from the privacy of your home. To avoid travel time and the comfort of home, many clients prefer to meet with Dr. Mike over the phone or via Skype (if you want to Skype with Dr. Mike send him an email at mbrooks3353@gmail.com to set up an appointment). The convenience of this type of Counseling/Coaching is the most effective means of Life Coaching for those who live outside of Colorado. Give Dr. Mike a call! You’ll be glad you did!

Do Not Take Counsel From Your Fears (1)

By Dr. Michael Brooks

Several years ago I was trying to decide if I was going to take a job with the New York Giants football club as a strength and conditioning coach. I pondered my options, what it would take to make that move and how that would effect my family. I had a close friend of mine who played with the Green Bay Packers tell me about this position that opened with the Giants. I worked with him on his training and conditioning before he reported to training camp in Green Bay, Wisconsin. I have to tell you a lot of thoughts raced through my mind. I wondered if I was good enough, did I have what it takes to be in the NFL on a coaching staff that demanded exhaustive hours and months of hard work?

Oh, I knew how to work with the athletes, but I questioned my ability to understand how this would be a huge challenge for my family. This would be a big move to New York City. I lived there as a kid and remember how busy it was as a 6-year-old. How would it be as an adult, traveling from stadium to home in New York Traffic? I started having fears about taking this job. The what if’s seemed to get in the way. Again, I didn’t question my abilities to be on the coaching staff; it was the other issues. Raising a child in New York City, finding a place to live, that kind of stuff. That’s where my fear began, was I good enough?

Then it dawned on me; I was happy where I was, I was passionate about my work, I loved where I lived and the friends that I had. That’s when I decided that staying put was fine with me. Do I regret not taking that coaching position in New York, sometimes, but also can see the wisdom of not taking it. In life, we cannot be controlled by our fears. We all have them and dealing with them in a healthy way can help us manage the unknown, and the fears that go with them.

I like to think that all of us will never allow our fears to dominate our next steps, that we look at them in such a manner and know the process of how to deal with our fears. I have been asked on several occasions; can fear be a good thing? I think it can be; it protects us from doing dumb things like, Driving too fast around a curve that has known fatalities associated with it. Cheating on your taxes and possibly the IRS finding out or not taking care of your health if you have known health risks. That kind of fear I believe is ok.

I can recall one such patient that I had several years ago who was a janitor at a large department store. He was grossly overweight and didn’t seem to care about his health. As we sat and talked, I asked him if he was concerned about his weight. He said no, not at all. He was tall as he was wide, very short and had a hard time breathing just sitting in a chair as we spoke. He told me he took vitamins and supplements and felt that this was all he needed in taking care of his health. So, in my observation, I’d say he didn’t have any fears or concerns about his poor health, or at least by what I was hearing him say. I offered to help him with his diet, set up an exercise program; he declined all my offers. The fear he wasn’t dealing with was an unhealthy lifestyle, and it eventually cost him his life. Fear can be good and bad. The fear that I’m talking about today is the paralyzing fear that holds us back from making wise decisions and us from being productive in our lives. This kind of fear can cripple us to the point of not being able to function or make healthy choices. That’s the fear I want to address in these articles.

Next week we’ll continue with this article. I’ll give you some of my tips that will help you deal with the everyday fears you face. If you have questions, give me a call or email me.

Are you holding on to your past fears and can’t experience joy in your life? Do you still hold on to fearful memories and your future seems hopeless? Do you want to be free of your Fears so you can have a wonderful future? If you answered yes to any of these questions, give Dr. Mike a call at 303.880.9878. He can help you with relationship problems.

Dr. Michael Brooks is the founder of Applicable Counseling and life coaching Services. It is affordable, accessible, anonymous and available by appointment from the privacy of your home. To avoid travel time and the comfort of home, many clients prefer to meet with Dr. Mike over the phone or via Skype (if you want to Skype with Dr. Mike send him an email at mbrooks3353@gmail.com to set up an appointment). The convenience of this type of Counseling/Coaching is the most effective means of Life Coaching for those who live outside of Colorado. Give Dr. Mike a call! You’ll be glad you did!