[Neurons] 2020 Neurons #13 FACTS OR FEAR?

[Michael Hall]

From: L. Michael Hall 

2020 Neurons #13

March 19, 2020

Thinking for a Living Series #4

 

FACTS OR FEAR?

Are you doing Fact-Thinking or Fear-Thinking?

 

I saw a News Conference with the Democratic Governor of New York, Andrew
Cuomo this morning (March 19) in which he said we are in a war- actually we
are engaged in two wars.  One war is with the coronavirus epidemic and the
other war is with fear.  That's when he said, "fear is more dangerous than
the virus."

 

To illustrate he then talked about a conversation he had with a well-known
business man in New York City.  The business man said that he heard that
they were going to lock down New York City, put the city in guarantine, send
out the National Guard, set up roadblocks, declare Marshal Law, and on and
on.  Governor Cuomo asked, "Who said that?"  "Well, I heard it."  "They said
it."  "It's all over the internet."  The Governor then tried to reason with
the man:

"Listen I have not heard any of that, besides none of that will happen
unless I authorize it, and I am not authorizing it.  I will not."

 

Andrew Cuomo then said the conversation went on for twenty-five minutes (!)
as he tried to reason with this normally rational man out of his
irrationality.  "Fear is more dangerous because when people are caught up in
irrational fear, they don't think normally."

 

That's pretty good for a politician!  I have to commend him for that News
Conference.  He spoke calmly and called for calm.  He identified the problem
that is above and beyond the physical problem of the virus- fear.
Irrational, unreasonable, anxiety-producing, and panic causing fear.  That's
a much harder battle to win and it is a "virus" that's much more contagious
than the physical virus- it is a mental virus that causes people to think
irrationally.

 

We see it here in this small Colorado town on the Western Slope of the Rocky
Mountains.  People have gone to all of the grocery stores in the area and
have hoarded just about everything- toilet paper, canned goods, water, eggs,
etc.  Shelves are empty everywhere.  And right now we do not have a single
case of coronavirus!  Talk about irrational fear driving irrational
panic-behavior!

 

For myself, I have refused to go to the store and hoard items.  The least I
can do is model calm thinking behavior.  While everything is closed- I can't
go and read at Starbucks, not even at McDonalds, and I can't go to the gym-
they closed that.  I can go for a run in the mountain trails; I can get out
and work in the yard, I can meet with people that I'm doing business with
and I am doing that.

 

To survive the covid-19 virus is easy.  The information is clear and has
been repeated a thousand times- wash hands, give a meter's distance around
people, be cautious, etc.  To survive the more dangerous pandemic- the
irrational fear pandemic- that's going to require a lot more of people.
It's going to require that people learn to truly think, to think critically,
and to based their thinking on facts rather than emotions.  Only then can
one avoid going into a panic state of irrationality.

 

If you are new to NLP or to Neuro-Semantics- this is basic "State Management
#101."  To manage your emotional state and truly exercise emotional
intelligence, you first have to take charge of your brain- to "run your own
brain."  You have to manage the thoughts that you think so that you refuse
fear-oriented thinking and to base your thinking about facts.

 

Fear is more danger than the virus precisely because irrational fear makes
you stupid.   You can't think clearly and rationally when driven by fear.
As you experience the stress of fear, blood is withdrawn from brain and
stomach, sent to the larger muscle groups- and you are in a state that makes
clear thinking much harder (not impossible, but definitely harder).  That
also puts you in a state where you are much more likely to do additional
physical harm to yourself -headaches, ulcers, and dozens of other
psycho-somatic illnesses.

 

Depending on where you are and what your life conditions are, there are lots
of ramifications from the "shutting down of the world."  For most people the
disruption of everyday life itself will bring about lots of changes ... and
imposed change such as this is felt by most people as highly stressful.
Additional stresses that will occur for many are loss of income, loss of
revenue from business, lack of things to do, cooped up with family for
weeks, and on and on.  Given all of the possible unpleasant ramifications-
being able to effectively cope is at a premium.  Yet one thing we know for
sure- being fearful will not help.

 

So, what will help?   Problem-solving thinking skills!  For most people,
this is a time for problem-solving.  And if you know how to do that, the
good news is that you now probably have time to do that.  If not, then this
is the time to learn how to solve problems.  But first - be sure to manage
your state.  Watch your thoughts- and do not feed fear.  Instead face fear
with calmness, objectivity, courage, resilience, and other resources.  For
many, that will be a big task because they are naturally prone to fear and
to feed their minds fear-thoughts.

 

There are answers to the Fear Pandemic.  If you have been infected by the
mental virus that causes you to think irrationally, to be filled with panic
and anxiety, then the place to win that war is inside- in your head.  Here
are some recommend books:

Consider Games for Mastering Fear (2001) on the Neuro-Semantic website.

              Consider Creative Solutions: Problem Solving (2017).

 

 

 

 

 

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

Executive Director, Neuro-Semantics

P.O. Box 8

Clifton CO. 81520 USA

www.neurosemantics.com   

 

The stunning new history of NLP--- NLP Secrets.  

Investigative Journalism which has exposed what has been kept secrets for
decades. 

http://www.neurosemantics.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/NLP-Secrets-2_sml2.
png

 

 

 

 

 

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