The (Original) Blog
“You have to let it all go, Neo. Fear, doubt, and disbelief. Free. Your. Mind.” – Morpheus, in The Matrix movie
New blog posts from 2022 on are now on the Shift the Country Substack - which are free to view or to subscribe to. Substack is an effective publishing platform that helps writers get wider audiences and support, and it's a good fit.
This (Original) Blog for Counterfear.com is an exploration of the counterfear work from 2016-2020. Some of the content since 2020 is on the Counterfear Facebook wall. More background "About The (Original) Blog" is here.
This blog space is a dynamic tool. As content builds, you can use the buttons below to search for blog topics you are interested in. Each Focus Area has a tag. The "Counterfear Tools (in blog)" can be found via that link or through the tags here. Shift the Country tools have moved to the 5 Ways To Make Shift Happen page on that new website.
All blog post entries are original unless noted. All blog post comments are moderated and delayed until approved.
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What "I'm Done" Means
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Yesterday I heard myself say the words "I'm done," in reference to something I have loved for years. A part of my work. I spent the rest of the evening... Read more
Sea Change: Let's Call the Budget Proposal What It Is
Friday, March 17, 2017
"Brace for impact." - 'Sully' Sullenberger
Perusing the news or your Facebook feed can be perilous these days - especially if you are a news addict with a... Read more
Have a Resilient Inauguration Week Trip to DC
Monday, January 16, 2017
So you’re going to Washington! Whether you are traveling to the nation’s capital for a party, a protest, or just to be present, one thing is for sure: you will need to be resilient. Anything can happen in a city on a normal day, but let’s admit it: this week, Washington, DC will be a special case. Really and truly — anything is possible.
Things may go just swimmingly. Hopefully that’s the case.... Read more
A Prayer for Election Day
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
And so it begins. US Election Day 2016. Years in the making.
May we be wise in our choices, and peaceful in our response. May we find acceptance. May we... Read more
Everything You Want Is On The Other Side of Fear
Sunday, October 23, 2016
George Addair said, "Everythig you want is on the other side of fear." I love that, because it is a tool.
If we face our fear; if we counter it - we start a shift. The action might just be finding the fear, and... Read more
Breakpoints & Resilience: Why Sidewalks Are Sexy
Saturday, October 22, 2016
"There's no doubt the ground will shift. The question is: when it does, will you be ready?" - Seth Godin
Nobody wants to talk about sidewalks. Sidewalks are boring. The opposite of sexy. A... Read more
Staring Down Transformation
Thursday, October 20, 2016
"You can't transform something you won't look at." - Dixie St. John
It’s easy to get overwhelmed, and a bit paralyzed. We tend to resist change, even when risk is... Read more
Going the Full Phoenix
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
I learned a beautiful metaphor about transformation when I was in life coach training with Martha Beck. It’s a bit about how a caterpillar doesn’t go into a cocoon and slowly transform... Read more
Countering Fear & 9/11: A Community Radio Conversation
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Click on the graphic below to hear KHOI's "Heart of Iowa" 9/15/16 Community Radio Show
I’ve spent kind of a ridiculous amount of time this year thinking about 9/11. The fact that I think that that is... Read more
Terrorism: Accepting the Unacceptable
Monday, September 19, 2016
“I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.” - Og Mandino
Just when I feel like it’s safe to take a time-out from the news for a day or so, we’ve got more terrorism.
I won’t even try to summarize the latest developments… but the super-quick picture is that there were attacks in New York, New Jersey, and Minnesota this weekend. The debate rages on about whether these were terrorist attacks. At its... Read more
Anchor and Flank
Sunday, September 18, 2016
"Anchor and Flank" is at the core of the counterfear process (check out the Focus Area page "Anchor and Flank" for more). It comes from fire. In fact, it's a core principle of wildland firefighting,... Read more
Light From the Darkness: The Day After 15 Years After 9/11
Monday, September 12, 2016
"I remember exactly that moment when the whole world stopped & we saw each other standing there. Wondering how we ever forgot that we are all light wanting to shine for each other." - Brian Andreas, StoryPeople
Yesterday I tried to write a blog post about 9/11. Well, if I’m honest, I started trying to write it on Friday. Didn’t work. Didn’t... Read more
Tool: The Art of Triage
Friday, September 9, 2016
Addressing Chaos
Years ago when I worked as a Fire Intelligence Coordinator at “South Ops," I set about finding some tools to help me organize and prioritize. South Ops is the country’s busiest interagency operations coordination center, and is reputed to be the busiest such center center in the world. It covers response coordination... Read more
Brexit, the EU, & the Market: Need a Time-Out?
Saturday, June 25, 2016
“Why don't we take a five minute break?” - Dark Helmet, Spaceballs
Big news today, as the UK has voted to leave the EU. Worldwide markets reacted to the... Read more
Keep the Faith
Monday, June 20, 2016
Fire folks are known to be a little eccentric. Well, wildland fire folks, anyway. Come to think of it, just today I had a new friend say to me, “who voluntarily goes into a burning forest, anyway?” To me, that sounds like a... Read more
Tool: Create the Space
Sunday, June 19, 2016
"First things first."
Creating the space is one of my own personal go-to favourite coaching tools.
It’s pretty simple. You have to create the space for what you want. You may want peace. Vision. Rest. Progress. You can reach these - even for a moment - by creating some space for them. If... Read more
Tool: Take a 5-Minute Break
Saturday, June 18, 2016
“Why don't we take a five minute break?” - Dark Helmet, Spaceballs
I find much of my wisdom in silly movies. This gem from the movie Spaceballs has been a counterfear lifesaver for me - over and over. "Why don't we take a... Read more
Tool: Sphere of Control
Friday, June 17, 2016
"You don't surrender your dreams. You surrender the one thing you never had and you never will: control." - Socrates, Peaceful Warrior
Read more
Tool: Change Your Language, Shift Your Life
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Take a look at your language.
You are not what you were. From this moment on, you can be something different.
Language is powerful. How we use it reflects how we think. When you pay attention to your language, you can see what it reflects about how you think. When you put the work in to change your language and your thinking - you can shift both.
Talking about You
To start with,... Read more
Tool: Daily 5 & 5
Thursday, June 16, 2016
This here is a tool you can use daily. It's fast. And it's effective.
Every day, take five minutes and write a list of:
5 things you are grateful for
5 things that you... Read more
Tool: Embrace Your Humanity
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
This is a tool from Steve Maraboli, a favourite life coach of mine. I met Steve in 2009, well before I considered becoming a life coach myself. Steve planted a seed, though.
I listened to hours of Steve’s online radio... Read more
Tool: Hear Your Fear
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
With all this talk about countering fear, it is important to recognize fear itself.
We have fear for a reason. Sometimes it’s a life-saver. When I see a crazy driver veering around on the road or cutting in and out of traffic -... Read more
Tool: Go for a Walk
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
“The journey is what brings us happiness, not the destination.” - Socrates, in the movie Peaceful Warrior
Going for a walk is absolutely one of my favourite life tools.
Walking is good for the soul. Humans have been... Read more
Tool: Take Out the Trash
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
"Take out the trash. The trash is anything that's keeping you from the only thing that matters, this moment. Here. Now. And when you truly are in the here and now, you'll be amazed at what you can do, and how well you can do it." - Socrates, in the movie... Read more
Tool: Vision & Passion
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
“This is your world. Shape it, or someone else will.” - Gary Lew
Randomly sit one day and write a life vision. Don’t stew over it, or make it in to something bigger than it is…... Read more
On Orlando: Love Makes Us Strong
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Pulse Nightclub Attack - June 12, 2016 - Orlando, Florida
Tonight I finally figured out what I wanted to say about the attack this week at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. I outlined a... Read more
On Newsletters
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
So I will admit this: I was a bit of a policy wonk during my quality time in Washington, DC. I only mention this because one of the things you do when policy wonking is... Read more
May Day & Mayday!
Sunday, May 1, 2016
It’s May Day here in the US. For me, it’s a day loaded with meaning. All kinds of meaning.
When I was a kid, May Day was the symbolic “real” beginning of spring. The grass was green. The winter was almost certainly over. And every year, we went to some effort to make May baskets. My mother led the operation, which involved assembling collections of popcorn... Read more
Random Tools to Counter Unclear Fear
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
One benefit to growing the Counterfear idea is that I’ve got notes on about a hundred counterfear tools in my arsenal - and that is a real number. I’m in the process of getting as many of those as possible on the website in the near future. In the meantime, this post is a bit of a Toolbox sampling... as I tried to process some unexplained fear one night.
Practical Fear
It would be nice to think that if... Read more
For the Universe-Denters, the Leapers, and the Dreamers: What To Do With The Voices In Your Head
Friday, April 22, 2016
“What do stars do?” - Yvaine, in the movie Stardust
I’ve been in hermit-mode lately. I suspect that the people who dream big and make stuff happen all maybe do the hermit thing every once in a while. For me, it’s the best way to get a lot done. If... Read more
2015: The Great Personal Leg Break
Thursday, April 21, 2016
The title here sounds dramatic and perhaps a bit grandiose. I reckon that's because this here is one hell of a personal disaster tale. And, I’m still trying to walk correctly.
Here’s the super-short story, from last February. On a Thursday, my brother and my dad flew in to help me gut and start the remodel of the only bathroom in my... Read more
About the Founder
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
“Sooner or later you’re going to realize just as I did… there’s a difference between knowing the path, and walking the path.” – Morpheus, The Matrix
Hello! I am Vanessa Burnett, the founder of Counterfear.com.
Here are some basics - my experience / bios, a public LinkedIn Profile, a bit... Read more
Stealth-Help
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Lately I’ve been busy writing an abbreviated history of my life and times for The Blog and the website. One of the dangers and benefits of all the writing is that it inspires other... Read more
Random Life Tidbits
Monday, April 11, 2016
Hello! This blog is just a few random pieces and parts about my life. Much of my writing leads to Read more
The Link Between Fear & Resilience
Monday, March 28, 2016
This post is part of the "Counterfear Tools" blog series.
Does Fear Tie to a Lack of Resilience?
I’ve thought for years about resilience, and how to explain it. Explaining resilience can feel overwhelming, because it can be so complex. But, that is because life is complex. When you boil it down a bit, resilience gets simpler. We may well have more fear in areas where we suspect... Read more
Why
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
"Light up the darkness." - Bob Marley
[NOTE: This piece has become one of the anchor pieces in the story of getting ready for the great disruption that began in 2020 with the pandemic. More pieces to the back stories are here, including a sort of update to this post here on Why called The Great Transformation.]
Most Counterfear.com blog posts are conversational and fun and not so technical. This one is technical, serious, and sobering.
It is a memorial. It is a foundation. It is also an explanation. A clearing. And a space to dream.
This blog... Read more
Children of the Cornfield: Hilarity & Inspiration at a Middle School Musical
Saturday, February 27, 2016
I moved back to Iowa recently, for a different life. I had spent four years in the LA Basin (with 18.5 million people), and another eleven-plus in the Washington, DC area (9.5 million)… so that’s over 15 years in the country’s 2nd and 4th largest metropolitan areas. OOF. I add an extra “uff-da!” to that when I think about how I set out to be a park ranger, to live in the trees. Who would have thought the world of wildland firefighting would lead to the damn... Read more
About the Blog
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
“If not us, who? If not now, when?”
The Counterfear Blog is a piece of the heart and soul of this website, and of the counterfear idea. I do not promise brevity. I am... Read more
A Floor Wax and a Dessert Topping: New 'Counterfear'
Monday, February 8, 2016
“Sooner or later you’re going to realize just as I did… there’s a difference between knowing the path, and walking the path.” - Morpheus, in The Matrix movie
One of the things about a website is... Read more
I Took the Red Pill: Why I Am On The Counterfear Path
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
“This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red... Read more
Launching an Idea: What is Counterfear?
Friday, January 22, 2016
Welcome to Counterfear! This right here represents my first blog post, and something I didn't expect. That is because the word "blog" annoys the daylights out of me. It is an ugly word, although the idea behind it is good. I purposefully avoided using the word for several years, hoping maybe it wouldn't stick around. Hoping... Read more