Turning F.E.A.R into F.U.E.L for Confidence and Empowerment

I recently returned from a month overseas visiting family and friends and on our return flight, I was convinced I was going to die. The turbulence was so bad that even the crew members (in my mind only) looked a little concerned, as they were asked to suspend service and buckle up. No amount of rationalising and putting my faith in the experts in the cockpit could stop my heart from thumping and telling my husband (one last time) that I loved him…and then we landed.

As soon as I got home, I started to research more about severe turbulence and thanks to Allen Carr (of smoking cessation fame) and a fabulous reddit post, I can safely say that I’ll be ready for my next international flight, albeit avoiding sitting at the back of the plane!

I also remembered my cognitive hypnotherapy training where we compared the journey of a boat bouncing over waves of water, to the plane bouncing over airwaves – both vessels being built for such conditions.

I needed to take action immediately for 2 reasons, 1. The thought of being too scared to visit my family and friends overseas again was too hard to bear and 2. I knew I had the knowledge and skills to deal with it (but didn’t deploy them!) and had to put my money where my mouth is.

Which brings me to the point of this info journal. What I just shared is an example of primal fear that can be addressed through various interventions such as Hypnotherapy, CBT, EMDR etc. When it comes to fears that manifest as self-limiting beliefs, we need to dig a little deeper.

WHY I want to talk about Fear

I want to talk about fear because not many people are, and, since first delivering ‘Turning FEAR into FUEL’ this as a program, I have been observing how fear holds so many of us back from achieving our full potential or even growing into it. And fear does not discriminate in hierarchy – even the most senior of people can be impacted to the point of stagnation, paralysis and withdrawal.

The Big Picture

In today’s fast-paced, high-stakes business landscape, fear is everywhere – but it’s rarely talked about or addressed. Whether it’s fear of failure, the impact of AI, or disappointing others, these emotions are often masked by overwork, perfectionism, or quiet disengagement. In my coaching I am now seeing this on a regular basis.

Fear is not a Flaw, it’s a Human Emotion

Fear is a natural, physiological response designed to keep us safe. But in our modern workplaces, where psychological threats can feel as real as physical ones, fear can limit creativity, innovation, and progress. Left unaddressed, fear can cripple confidence. Worse still, stigma often prevents individuals and their leaders from acknowledging fear at all.

It’s time to talk and shift the narrative.

What if, instead of holding you back, the energy in these fears could become the fuel that drives your self-belief, confidence and success?

Excitement and fear are 2 sides of the same coin. Think about it. Why do some people pay good money to be scared witless watching horror films or riding mega rollercoasters? Fear has energy in it and there are pathways in our brain that we can retrain, through cognitive strategies, to dampen down the fear response and increase the neutral/calm or even thrill response.

Turning F.E.A.R into F.U.E.L for Confidence and Empowerment

I want to share with you a new program** that I have been developing and have delivered to a Statewide Government Agency and a Global Consultancy. I am proud to share with you this empowering, evidence-based and highly practical program that, when you do the work, delivers on its promises.

Designed to help individuals and teams recognise how fear shows up in the workplace and how to transform it into a driver for positive change, it helps shift the narrative and challenge the stigma.

As with every program we run at BrainSmart, we flip the lid on our amazing brains, doing a deep dive into the neuroscience of fear. We unlock the ability to recognise fear, reframe it, and use it as a powerful catalyst for growth, confidence, and empowered action. We explore both presenting and underlying fears so that we can address the source not the symptoms, and we share a range of strategies, each suiting different people for different reasons.

You know that I always aim to offer strategies in my info journals, so here is one of the most powerful as voted by participants in the last program I ran.

The Power of Regret

Drawing on the work of Daniel Pink and Bronnie Ware, we look at the nature of regret and reframe it from a negative emotion to something of critical importance (fuel) that can help people to find the courage to face their fears for good.

Creating the Future BackwardsThis is a visualisation and reflection exercise taking participants into their future (imagine you’re approaching your 80^th Birthday) and having them reflect on things they wish they’d done in their life.

We’re all capable of creating our future backwards and no-one, I suspect, wants to be at end of life with a huge ‘I wish’ list.

If you would like details of how to run the process for yourself, please send me an email

**Please note that this program is not therapy but a focus on developing self-awareness and strategies for dealing with barriers to success. If fear is impacting your day to day life, please seek professional help.

In Summary

Remember that fear is a normal response to keeping us safe. Total fearlessness doesn’t exist, unless you have brain damage! This is about acknowledging your fears and – confession time – my overriding one is imposter syndrome – and finding ways to harness its energy and redirect it so that it serves us.

We don’t want to kill those butterflies in our stomach; we just need to get them flying in formation!

By the way, F.E.A.R and F.U.E.L are acronyms for models I use in the workshop. I’m also developing a keynote presentation on this critically important topic.