Fear vs. Presence: Choosing the "Here and Now"
- Alexandra Jimenez
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
The beginning of a new year is a powerful time for change. Perhaps you are motivated to make a big decision, start something new, or stop a habit that no longer serves you. You may have been thinking about this first step for a long time.
However, when we prepare for change, an uncomfortable feeling often creeps in. This feeling can delay our actions and even cause physical or emotional pain. If you look closely, you will recognize it: it is fear.
Understanding Fear: The Illusion of the Future
In his book The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle explains how fear can "steal" our lives. We often confuse our "life situation" with our actual life.
Life is what you are experiencing right now—your "here and now".
Fear is an illusion. It is an emotional reaction to a perceived danger in the future—scenarios that often only exist in our imagination.
While fear can help humans survive physical threats (like running from a fire), the fear we feel today is often emotional fear, and it just keeps us "stuck". Research shows that over 80% of the scary scenarios our minds imagine never actually happen.
"I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened". Mark Twain
Fear is an emotion based on the uncertainty of the unknown, and it is about our perception of a time that does not even exist yet, the future. Fear can also be based on stories that we create for ourselves based on perceptions that we have in our minds, or we have let others plant in our minds willingly or not.
The Power of Presence: Acceptance of "What Is"
Presence is the act of creating emotional space to accept what is happening in the current moment. It is about tuning into your senses—listening, observing, smelling, and touching—to understand your current reality.
All the input that our senses provide is neurologically important in transmitting information to our brain, and then our brain learns about the present moment and helps us make a conscious decision about the situation.
The Science of Presence
Recent discoveries in neuroscience show that our brain collects information through more than just the traditional five senses. We also have:
Self-perception: How the brain interprets our body posture.
Inner perception: How the brain analyzes what our internal organs (heart, lungs, etc.) are doing.
The brain actually prioritizes the "inner" signals. By practicing presence, we learn to listen to the "whispers" of our body before they become screams of stress.
How to Practice Presence
Improving your presence requires practice, as it takes time to reconnect with your senses. Some ideas on how you can create an environment for stillness through:
Breathing exercises
Meditation or Yoga
Interacting with nature
“The body whispers, sometimes screams when we find ourselves in dangerous situations, but it generally whispers. Our brain is not used to listen to these whispers, and therefore sometimes ignores them, however the body knows before what our mind will bring to our consciousness.” Nazareth Castellanos, El Espejo del cerebro (The brain’s mirror), April 2021
The Benefits of Staying Present
As you elevate your level of presence, you will notice several benefits:
Better Management of Fear: You won't eliminate fear, but you will learn to manage it by creating a "space" between the emotion and your response.
Clarity: You can separate what is actually happening from the stories your mind is telling you.
Empowerment: You can make conscious choices based on reality rather than reacting to a future that may never arrive.
As a conclusion, practicing and elevating your presence does not eliminate the fear emotion. Instead, we learn to manage it, creating new thoughts, new neuropaths that expand our perspective and focus our attention in the “here and now” so we can respond better and more consciously.
How Coaching Can Help
Many people seek coaching because they feel trapped by perspectives of the past or fears of the future. Coaching provides a safe space for self-reflection. A coach helps you explore the source of your fears and helps you develop the presence needed to see new opportunities.
In the end, it is the present moment that shapes your future—not the other way around.
If you’re ready to explore how to reach more presence in your life, consider reaching out to professionals who can guide you. Your future self will thank you for the courage you show now.
AQUA Coaching is committed to being your thinking partner in moving from fear to presence: choosing the "here and now."
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