Anyone out there feeling a little spooked about the future? This season is supposed to be filled with harmless frights. Instead, gloom and doom of a most unpleasant form are threatening our peace of mind: What will come of our financial futures and all that entails? Who will lead our nation and what path will that leadership take?

The answers will come, but not before we have to face our fears. And since we at Brilliance Inc. are advocates for taking control of our own reactions (because any other control is an illusion), this edition is dedicated to taming the boogeyman within.

First, evaluate your contribution:
If you are reading this, you are a leader in some capacity, in your organization, team or family. As leaders, you have an important role to play as Chief Fear Tamer. It is not a role that everyone is up to. You may have noticed that our nation presently lacks leadership. Had we had strong leadership in the first few weeks after the Lehman Brothers, AIG, et. al. collapse, the stock market might not have looked like The Nightmare on Wall Street.

An MIT professor of Management described it aptly when he stated that we couldn’t ask for two more technically gifted individuals in the Treasury Secretary and Federal Bank Chairman. And yet neither was able to describe their plans and actions in a way that assured banks and the general public in a way that would prevent a good old-fashioned panic. In the absence of effective leadership, technical expertise didn’t do the trick. Fear reigned, rendering government’s plans impotent to the whims and fears of mortals.

Taming the fear goblin:
Before you can tame the fear goblin, it’s important to come clean with yourself. Maybe you did look at your 401K account 40 times in one week. Maybe you did absorb countless hours of toxic news reports. Maybe you did ensnare neighbors and family in frightening what-if scenarios. Maybe you read every political poll update you could get your hands on. Maybe you failed to reassure those who depend on you.

So be it. Now you have a choice. You can decide to face your fears and choose behaviors that build resilience. If you’d like to slay the goblin and be one of the leaders your organization, team and family need, read on for actions you can take starting now.

Reduce your Toxic Intake:

• Go On a Toxic TV Diet
  • Stop Watching TV news. Many of you may think this impossible, even irresponsible, as a citizen of the world.
  • Our challenge: try it for 24 hours. See how well informed you remain. If you MUST watch TV news:
  • Stay away from the 24-hour channels, whose aim is to stoke fear and anguish so you stay glued to the tube, while possibly coming unglued from rational thinking.
• Watch the most dry (aka real) news you can find
  • Jim Leher News Hour on PBS
  • BBC World News
• Limit your news intake to less than 30 minutes online headline reviews, or less than one hour of (non inflammatory) news radio.
• Stop watching gruesome television programs depicting violence, fear, and murder.
• De-Tox Your Relationships
  • Avoid fear-mongering friends and family.
  • Tell others you wish to focus conversation topics on positive sentiments.

Get Inspired:

• Talk to someone who has come out the other end of tragedy.
• Read inspirational words.
• Envision a positive future.
• Ask whatever you believe in to help you co-create it.

Get Inspired:

• Gratitude: What in your life are you grateful for? What else? Keep expanding your lists. Notice the little things.
• Beauty: Notice it everywhere (the design of a car, the color of leaves, music, a child’s smile). Play soothing, upbeat, music.
• Humor: If you do watch television, stick to comedies and light fare.
• Perspective: Travel places. If you can’t go anywhere, travel virtually across time and space with great books.
• Volunteer to help someone in need.
• Exercise: Dance, walk, just move your body and pump endorphins into your brain to calm the panic.
• Healthy food: Eat whole, natural foods. Minimize alcohol, caffeine, and processed foods.
• Breath: Notice your breath.
• Sleep: Turning off the TV should make it easier to get your zzzzs.
• Relaxation: Notice the muscles in your face, jaw, neck, shoulders. Take breaks and let them relax.

Take Control Where You Can:

• Get the facts before acting.
• Acknowledge worst case scenarios without dwelling on them.
• Calibrate a likely outcome between the worst and best cases (get professional advice if you need help making a reality check).
• Know your options. Create a plan of action to be able to address the worst case scenario if need be.
• Note where you have gaps in the plan and find an expert to help you complete it.
• Acknowledge all that you have to be grateful for, even if your worst vision comes to pass

Embrace and Celebrate Reality:

On Nov. 2, citizens of Mexico will unite in celebration as they honor those loved ones who have passed from this life on earth. If there was ever an expression of true grace, it is Dia de Los Muertos, Day of the Dead. Mexicans will demonstrate that when one faces their deepest sorrow squarely, a space opens up that allows in an experience of true love and joy.