It’s the Chinese Lunar Calendar’s Year of the Tiger and Paper Tigers are abound! In the Chinese tradition, tigers are symbolic for strength, bravery, and wisdom. I can’t think of a better time for us to celebrate the launch of my new book — The Paper Tiger Syndrome: How to Liberate Yourself From the Illusion of Fear.
The term, Paper Tigers, places its origins in China and is defined as something or someone that appears to be a threat, but in reality, is powerless. For example, relationship conflict, pressures at work, or watching the evening news can all create the same stress response in the body that our ancestors experienced when under imminent threat — they’re neurological “misfires” that wreak havoc on our ability to make both big and small decisions from a regulated state of body and mind.
These misfires are a constant because our primitive responses (fight, flight, and freeze) have not evolved apace with the modern world, causing major disruption in our lives, families, and communities across the globe. The nervous system makes no distinction between real and perceived threats; we need to teach it to do that. Our fear-based responses to stress, anxiety and overwhelm – not to mention our past traumas – keep us from thriving and instead, keep us in a chokehold of fear.
The Paper Tiger Syndrome is a guidebook that unlocks the mystery to liberating yourself from fear — the regulation of your body’s stress responses. The book is chock full of examples, including my own, of overcoming fear in its many faces and forms and return to what I call the Original Blueprint® — the purest form of the human expression of the soul. The book includes exercises and tools to help you embrace all of life’s lessons with ease and flourish, no matter what comes your way.
Pick it up on Amazon today.
Still not sure whether fear is running you? Take my Illusion of Fear Quiz to find out.
Stay true to you.
xo,
Rebecca A. Ward, LMFT, SEP, PCC
Founder, the Iris Institute
Speaker | Licensed Therapist | Executive Coach