Market Crash? Housing Crash? Gas at $5/gallon? What is your reaction to this constant bombardment in the news of these phrases? Does the fear affect your actions concerning your purchases, investment strategies or how you drive?

This strong fearful emotion comes from one of the most “ancient” parts of your brain (a part which you share with other complex vertebrates), the amygdala, also known as the “fear center” in your brain. It can respond to upsetting stimuli in 12 milliseconds, or one-25th the time it takes to blink your eye. These brain cells fire without your conscious thought when something frightening happens to you, say if you open your credit card statement and see a large balance or when your gasoline purchase gets shut off at $100 at the pump, for instance.

Because of hormones flooding your system caused by the amygdala, you can be prone to some crazy “knee jerk reactions”. Triggering the amygdala will make your pulse will race, fill your bloodstream with adrenaline, shoot up your blood pressure, your eyes will widen and your nostrils flare, making you hypersensitive to any further danger. All these changes will allowing you to run at a speed faster than you thought possible, without thinking about it, if you were being chased down by an angry bear you surprised in the forest (running is not a good strategy, by the way).

Fear also has the power to immobilize you. For many people fear is the biggest reason they might not take action when they have credit problems - it all seems so overwhelming. A calm attitude, and biting off small pieces of information at a time, taking small steps, these are the keys to credit repair. If you find yourself panicking as you begin to review your credit report for the first time with intentions of credit repair, take this advice:

1. Put the information away and come back to it. (Don’t put it away permanently, put an appointment on your calendar to pick it up again tomorrow).
2. Thinking you need to spend hours at a time on this stuff can be a motivation killer. Set aside 10 minutes, (that’s right, 10 minutes) and tell yourself when the 10 minutes is up, you’ll stop reading, writing, or filing. Often you’ll find that you will continue working once the 10 minutes is up.
3. When you are reviewing the information, take a deep breath and tell yourself that you are just like countless others that started from ground zero and were highly successful. (It’s true!)
4. Realize that your credit repair will take time and nothing will happen overnight
5. Join our discussion forums and ask for support. (It’s free.)
6. Keep a journal or a log book so you can keep track of your progress
7. Read, Read, Read!

Just as running from a bear is the wrong thing to do (you need to stand your ground, make yourself look as large as possible, make lots of noise and throw stones, according to Yosemite National Park Rangers), running and hiding from your credit problems is the wrong strategy. Don’t let your amygdala get the best of you! Fight, not flight is the best strategy.

Does anyone else have any other tips? Leave a Comment!

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