Dr. Derek Suite - The Suite Spot

Divine Direction for Daily Living: Don't Let Fear Take The Wheel: #TakeActionTuesday

• Derek H. Suite, M.D.

Share episode


Science Soul Success ✨

Ever notice how fear shows up right when you're about to do something important? 🤔

On today's Take Action Tuesday episode of the Suite Spot, Dr. Derek Suite gets real about why fear isn't actually the enemy we think it is. Fear has kept humanity alive for thousands of years. It's done its job. But somewhere along the way, we started letting it run the whole show.

The thing is, fear isn't supposed to stop us. It's supposed to alert us. There's a big difference.

Joyce Meyer says it perfectly: "Feel the fear and do it anyway." She's not telling us to be reckless. She's reminding us that courage isn't the absence of fear. It's action in the presence of it.

Look at Psalm 23 again. King David wrote, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." Notice he didn't say "I sit down in the valley" or "I run away from the valley." He said walk THROUGH it. Keep moving. One foot in front of the other.

Here's what neuroscience tells us about that ancient wisdom: when we face what scares us and keep moving anyway, something shifts in our brain. The amygdala, that's our fear alarm system, starts to calm down. It learns that we can handle more than we thought. But when we freeze? When we let fear park us in place? That alarm just keeps getting louder and louder.

Beyoncé put it like this: "Power's not given to you. You have to take it." And sometimes taking your power means taking one scared step forward. 💪

So what's the move today? What's one small action you've been avoiding because fear had you convinced it was too risky, too hard, too much?

You don't need to be fearless. You just need to walk.

AFFIRMATION:
I take action even when fear whispers doubt. Fear does not have the final say. I move forward knowing I'm protected, guided, and stronger than I realize.

STAY AMAZING!!!

If this resonated with you, share it with someone who needs to hear it today. And don't forget to subscribe to The Suite Spot so you never miss an episode. 🎧

#ScienceSoulSuccess #TheSuiteSpot #DerekSuiteMD #TakeActionTuesday #TuesdayMotivation #Leadership #Mindfulness #PersonalGrowth #ProfessionalDevelopment #NewEpisode

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome beautiful souls. Welcome back. This is Take Action Tuesday on the Sweet Spot. I'm Dr. Derek Sweet. I'm your host. As you know, I'm a board-certified psychiatrist. I specialize in sports and performance. But more than that, I enjoy helping individuals, people just like you, live and achieve the best life ever. It's all about living a life we love, and I enjoy being on the journey with you. As you know, this week we're spending a whole lot of time in ancient wisdom. Last week we spent a whole lot of time asking the right questions. This week we're looking to ancient wisdom for some answers because God knows it's truly overwhelming out there. Alright, so yesterday we spent some time with Psalm 23, remember? So we said that ancient wisdom has so many powerful insights that we can apply that it was worth it for us to go and look at Psalm 23 to see exactly what this David, this King David, who went through so much, why did he send this divine message, this divine text to us? Okay, that gives us a blueprint as to how to handle all the stresses we are facing today. Look, there's a reason that fear works, it keeps us safe, but it's sneaky, it shows up at the wrong times, it can step in our way and stop us from getting the results we're looking for. It can overwhelm us, it can paralyze us. And it doesn't just whisper, it shouts, it tells us to stop, telling us to wait, telling us not yet. And the worst part, fear convinces us that stopping is safer, that hesitation is protection. But what if I told you fear isn't as powerful as it seems? What if the only reason fear feels so big is because we give it permission to stand in our way. See, there's a reason fear is mentioned so many times in ancient wisdom. If you look at the scriptures, you'll see that fear is mentioned so many times. It's almost as if they knew that fear was going to be something we as humans would have to deal with. And here we are in this 21st century dealing with some of the same fears. Because people, since the beginning of time, have struggled with this thing. And no one understood fear better than David, the writer of Psalm 23. He faced enemies, he faced betrayal, danger, and uncertainty. He faced stress, just like you and I are. And yet, in the middle of all that, he wrote these words. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Wow. Now listen to that again. Even though I walk through, not even though I sit down in fear, not even though I run to the other side. No, David says, even though I walk through. And that's what we so often forget here on Take Action Tuesday. That fear isn't the problem. The problem is when we let fear stop us from taking action. The moment we stop moving, the moment we stop taking action, fear wins. And science backs us up. When we face fear and we keep moving, our brain learns that fear isn't a stop sign, it's just an emotion. The moment we take action, no matter how small, the amygdala, you remember the amygdala, the fear center in the brain, we talked about that. It starts to quiet down. Literally, that brain structure doesn't get hyperactive. And we literally train our brain to become braver by taking action. But here's the thing, my friend, when we freeze, when we avoid the challenge, when we run away, that same fear grows stronger. And that amygdala starts telling us all kinds of stories and creates all this drama in our heads. The brain starts reinforcing the idea that stopping was the right decision. And it makes going and taking action harder the next time. That's why if you make a mistake or you make an error, they say get up and keep moving and correct it in real time or let it go. So if fear standing in your way right now, the best thing you can do is take action. Do like David did in this ancient wisdom. Walk. Walk through it. Move. Even if it's just one small step at a time. Walk through the valley of the shadow of whatever it is. This is just a metaphor for danger, for worry, for anxiety. It says here in the scriptures, yea, do I walk through the valley of the shadow of death? But really, it's walking through the valley of the shadow of anything. And think about something you've been avoiding today. This is Take Action Tuesday. Think about something that scares you, something that you've been putting off. Maybe it's a conversation. Maybe you need to go to the doctor. Maybe you have to have a difficult talk with somebody. Maybe it's an action that you have to take, a goal that you've been hesitating on, a step you know you need to take, but fear is stopping you from taking action. Fear is whispering, not yet. Don't do that. Now ask yourself, what's one small action I can take today? To walk through it. Not the whole thing. I'm not asking to get it all done. Just one step. Think of David, that shepherd that had to lead his sheep through the very valley, the shadows of death. When you're in a valley, sometimes it's hard because everything is higher than you and looking down at you and it's dark. But if you take that one step. Because here's the truth, my friends. You don't have to be fearless. You just have to keep walking. Let's lock that in with an affirmation. Say this with me, or just let it settle in your heart and in your mind. I take action even when fear is present. Fear does not control me. I move forward with confidence, knowing I'm protected and empowered. I'll repeat. I move forward with confidence, knowing I'm protected and empowered. Yeah, fear is just a shadow. It has no weight, it has no power unless you stop moving. Walk through it. Be like David. Walk through the shadow and watch how small it becomes. And the thing about walking is that you're never alone. Something is always with you. There's always a power that's with you. But we'll talk more about that. So listen, that's it for Take Action Tuesday. I hope you found this helpful. I want you to keep moving forward. This is Dr. Sweet, Beautiful Souls. Please stay tuned. Tomorrow is Win It All Wednesday, and we're going in. We're going in on Psalm 23 this week. We're not letting go. God knows there's so much going on that we needed to go back to ancient wisdom for some pearls. Thank you, King David. A shout out to you. And I'll see you on Twitter, on Instagram, on X, and I'm on YouTube as well. Peace.