In my work as a psychologist, I often hear people speaking to their confusion about what to trust in their lives. Often, the question boils down to a choice between what they are feeling (fear, anxiety, worry, stress) and what they know, or the objective facts of a situation. The reason for this confusion is certainly understandable because, as children, most of us learned to trust what we feared because we weren’t really capable of “knowing” or understanding everything that was going on around us.

Unfortunately, these experiences have trained us to continue to give the energy of anxiety, worry, or fear a lot of credibility as adults, and this can cause confusion when what we fear is incongruent with what we know.

Of course, there are times in our lives when worry or anxiety can serve us. If we are in a dangerous part of town, taking precautions based upon concerns about our safety is a good idea. Similarly, when we encounter a driver who is driving erratically, getting out of harm's way (versus assuming all will be well) could be an excellent decision.

The challenge comes when we are in situations that seem to pose no immediate physical danger, but we find ourselves feeling anxious. These could be relationships, job interviews, public speaking, or a myriad of other situations that seem to trigger anxiety. In these situations, we will need to decide whether to trust what we fear or what we know.

I suggest we claim our power as adults and only trust fear and worry in fight-or-flight situations. In all other situations, let’s ensure that we are coming from the clear, confident, and creative part of who we are and trust what we know.

Which part of the brain would you like to trust going forward to guide your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors?