Have you noticed how there are two kinds of people in a time of crisis? One will rush toward a disaster and the other one will freeze or worse yet, run away. What leads to such contrast in characters? Why do some move toward their fears and others away from them?

A perfect example is the story of The Man in the Red Bandanna on 9/11. When planes struck the towers, people were thrown into a frenzy. Those in the towers scrambled to get out of the buildings but became lost and struggled to get out safely. A man in a red bandanna showed up, like a superhero, and guided people down to safety before running back up to save more. The towers came down with him still inside doing what he felt was right. Ultimately his actions saved the lives of at least a dozen individuals.

There is no doubt that this man felt fear. His choice in the face of this fear, in the face of almost certain death, was to choose courage. This level of courage isn’t something that you are born with or accidentally stumble upon.

Science has shown that it is the continued practice of leaning into our fears, to choose courage over our instinctual fight or flight response, that leads to habitual fearlessness. It’s essentially a muscle that we can workout due to something called neuroplasticity.

Stopping our amygdala, the part of our brain that controls our fight, flight, or freeze response, from taking over our decision making allows us to step back and rationally approach the situation. This will at first be a difficult task to perform but just like choosing a salad over a burger, it is possible, and the more you do it the easier it gets.

When habitually practiced, one can harness the energy created (the kind that gets our hands and legs shaking) and time seems to slow down, our movements become instinctual, and we enter into states of peak performance and flow like Michael Jordan hitting the game-winner over Utah in 1998.

Here’s something to try next time you begin to feel some of your “fear symptoms” begin to pop up before a pitch, competition, or anything else.

The B.A.S.E. Method:

Breathe: Focus on your breath and making deep inhales into your stomach. This reduces the instinctive reactions of your sympathetic-nervous system. An easy way to do this is by using the Navy Seal 4-4-4-4 method. Inhale for a 4 count, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4, and repeat.

Asses the situation at hand: Try to take yourself outside of the scenario so you are a 3rd party observer. This will make you more impartial to the decision at hand.

Smile/Shift your eyes: There are two parts to this. The first is smile, even if it’s fake. This has been shown to reduce cortisol, the stress hormone, by up to 80%. The second part is to shift your eyes side to side like you’re watching a tennis match. To put it simply, there’s a process called EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) where when we think of a traumatic memory and shift our eyes side to side followed by thinking of a positive emotion, the traumatic association decreases.

Eliminate your mind’s shortcuts: We all have habitual patterns of reactivity and this is where we can make a real difference in our actions. Our neuro-pathways have been dug but neuroplasticity allows us to create new paths, however, it takes some effort. This is where you have the option to run from the fear or face it head-on. By choosing the more courageous option, you begin creating these new pathways. With practice, you can make this decision instinctual and your life will reflect that courage. You and others will notice.

Use this B.A.S.E. tool whenever you begin to feel some nerves or anxiety and I guarantee you’ll begin to see a change in your demeanor in the face of adversity. It takes effort and time but the work is worth it.

Courage is a choice. From standing on the edge of a thousand-foot cliff to asking out the girl of your dreams, you have the power to become the hero in your life. By repeatedly tackling fear head-on, we find an energized life filled with bliss, purpose, and enjoyment of everything before us.

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