Fear isn’t the problem, misreading it is.

In this episode of Paddle Forward: Navigating Life’s Currents, Anacani Walters breaks down one of the most misunderstood emotional experiences women face: fear.

Instead of treating fear as weakness or something to “push through,” Anacani reframes it as valuable feedback from the nervous system, a signal designed to keep us safe, not stuck.

Drawing from her lived experience as a mama, nurse-turned-entrepreneur, yoga teacher, and stand-up paddleboard instructor, Anacani explains why traditional “fearless mindset” advice often leads to burnout, avoidance, and self-judgment. She shares how self-love isn’t something you practice after fear disappears, it’s how you move with fear in a regulated, grounded way.

You’ll learn how to recognize fear as data, how to pause instead of override your body’s signals, and how to build real confidence through self-trust rather than perfection.

The episode closes with a simple, powerful grounding practice you can use the very next time fear shows up in your body, business, or life.

This episode is for anyone who’s tired of pushing through, tired of waiting to feel “ready,” and ready to move forward without abandoning themselves.

What You’ll Learn

1. Why fear is not a flaw, but a nervous system response
2. How misreading fear leads to burnout, avoidance, and self-doubt
3. The difference between fearlessness and self-trust
4. Why self-love is about listening, not forcing confidence
5. A simple grounding practice to regulate fear in real time
6. How to keep moving forward with fear instead of waiting for it to disappear

Timestamps

00:00 – Fear Isn’t the Problem

01:08 – Welcome to Paddle Forward

01:43 – Season Two Kickoff

02:18 – Why Fear Is So Misunderstood

03:45 – Fear as Nervous System Feedback

06:01 – Self-Love vs. Fearless Mindset

08:19 – Practical Steps to Handle Fear

09:47 – Recap & Key Takeaways

10:39 – How You Can Support the Podcast

11:12 – Closing Message

Your Quick Win

The next time fear shows up:

1. Pause for one breath
2. Put your feet on the floor and ground yourself
3. Ask: “What is this fear trying to protect?”

That single question can interrupt the spiral and bring you back into regulation.

Help This Podcast Grow 💗

If this episode helped you reframe fear even a little:

1. Save this episode
2. Share it with someone who’s been hard on themselves for feeling afraid
3. Leave a review to help this message reach more hearts

Your support keeps Paddle Forward flowing.

Stay Connected

Follow Anacani Walters for more mindful movement, nervous system support, and real-life self-trust:

1. Instagram: @heyitsanacani
2. Instagram: @myyogamagic_
3. Instagram: @phatmermaids

Stay fabulous.

Stay beautiful.

And no matter what — keep paddling forward.

fear management, overcoming fear, self love, confidence building, emotional regulation, fear mindset, navigating anxiety, holistic wellness, self trust, personal growth, women empowerment, coping strategies, mindfulness techniques, stress management, healing journey, paddleboarding metaphor, burnout recovery, fear as data, vulnerability in motherhood, mental health awareness

Fear isn't the problem.

Misreading it is.

And if fear keeps showing up in your life, your body, your business, this episode might change how you move forward.

Starting today.

And here's why it matters most.

Women that I have come into contact with and talk to think that fear typically means I'm not ready or I need more confidence, I need to fix myself first.

And.

And that belief creates hesitation.

They tend to overthink and then they end up waiting.

And in this episode, I'm going to show you what fear actually is.

Trying to tell you why pushing through fear often backfires and how self love isn't something that you do after fear goes away.

It is how you actually move with fear without burning out.

This isn't mindset for fluff.

It is something that you can use literally immediately.

So grab your cup of whatever's keeping you grounded, your tea, your coffee, grab your metaphorical paddle and let's dive in.

Welcome to Paddle Forward Navigating life's currents.

The unfiltered space where real life meets radical self trust.

I'm Anakani Walters, mama sup instructor, yoga teacher, burnout survivor and nurse turned entrepreneur.

Here we talk about it all.

Motherhood and identity, body image and self love, fear and healing, business and burnout, holistic wellness and the beauty of starting over.

This is where I bring all of me and invite you to do the same.

So grab your metaphorical paddle, take a deep breath and let's paddle forward together.

Hello.

Hello my beautiful friend.

Oh my gosh.

Season 2 How Crazy We Are in the Love month.

My favorite.

And I wanted to talk to you about just some fear mindset.

Go opposite of what we talked about last month but still tie it in because you remember that I talked about in a previous episode how much anxiety I was having with going hiking with my toddler and what that anxiety means.

And so today we are talking about fear.

And fear has in my opinion been wild wildly.

Can I not speak today?

Wildly misunderstood.

We've really been taught throughout our years from starting from when we were young.

At some point we lose that childish enthusiasm because of societal and our parents influences and are taught that confident people don't feel fearful, that strong women push past it and that healed women rise above it.

But and I grew up in that household where crying was a sign of weakness.

Crying was punishable.

You guys, if you were in my generation, a lot of us have heard are you crying?

Do you want me to give you something to cry about?

But fear doesn't mean that you are weak.

I have Learned this.

I have done so much shadow work and really deep, dark spiritual healing from my childhood all the way up until my twenties.

From that one simple mistruth that I really held onto for a big part of my life.

That fear was a sign that I was weak.

Fear meant that my nervous system is doing its job.

But think about stepping onto a paddle board, because that's my happy place.

The board moves and the water begins to shift around you.

And what does our body naturally do?

Especially if you are new to stand up paddle boarding, your body tightens up and that moment is not failure.

That's the feedback that your body is giving you.

Fear is your nervous system basically asking you one question, am I safe right now?

That is what its main priority is, wanting to know.

It goes instantly into that fight or flight.

Should we run or should we fight?

What is happening and where most people go wrong is that they treat fear like this enemy instead of using it as awareness and information.

So they completely override it, they ignore it or they shame themselves for it.

One of the three things.

And that's when fear tends to get louder because we are feeding it.

We are feeding our own fear.

We are allowing fear, the front seat, driver seat, in our journey.

And we miss out on so much when you do those things.

Fear does not disappear when it's ignored.

It actually escalates.

And take it from me, from years of learning that I am awful at stress management, I tended to not be good about expressing myself.

I used to bottle it all up and let me tell you, it came.

It would just be bottled and festering and then it would explode into this volcanic outburst and it was awful.

It does not go away because we ignore it or because of any of the other things in your body.

It will end up looking like tension in your life.

It's going to start to look like avoidance.

You're going to avoid all kinds of amazing opportunities and things because you are allowing fear to take over.

And in your business or your parenting, it's going to end up burning you out.

Self love, my beautiful friend, is not pretending that you're not afraid.

Fearless mindset.

Fearless living is not pretending that you're not afraid.

Self love actually means listening without judgment or spiraling.

When you're on a paddleboard, what do I tell you?

Bend your knees.

Spread your feet wider apart.

Lower yourself to the center of gravity.

Close your eyes.

Don't paddle.

Just stay there.

Feel the ocean moving underneath you and relax into it.

Enjoy the water's movement instead of fighting it.

The same thing is True in life.

What does my body need to feel safer right now?

That's what you ask yourself.

And just like I guide my students when they get into that fight or flight, the first time that they stand up on a paddle board and the wakes of the water are coming and they're getting their mermaid legs and I'm like, slap the water, bend your knees.

You, you got this.

That's what you need to be for yourself.

Fear doesn't mean that we stop.

This is not for me.

Get back down on the board.

I can't do this.

No, no, no, we don't do that.

But it does mean to slow down and reorient yourself.

Say you fall off.

Okay, we already know how to get back on.

We get back on.

We take a breath.

We do not rush back into getting back up.

We do it at our own time, when we are ready.

And now we understand what's going to maybe happen and we are ready for it.

And when you do that, when you regulate instead of overriding, fear stops running the show, my beautiful friend.

Now that is real confidence.

Not fearlessness, but having self trust.

So your quick homework for today.

The next time fear shows up, whether it be today, this week, this month, this year, I want you to do these three things.

The first one is pause for one breath.

Just take one breath, Put your feet on the floor, whatever it is that you're doing, ground yourself with mother earth and then ask yourself this exact question.

What is fear trying to protect?

Not how do I get rid of what I'm feeling?

Not what's wrong with me?

What is this fear trying to protect?

And you're doing it from a curiosity, a nudge, non judgmental standpoint.

That one question alone can interrupt the spiral that we naturally go into when fear strikes.

And it will bring you back into your body so that you can try to self regulate and make a decision not from full on emotion or feeling, but from actual all of your senses coming together, your mind and your body.

And that is how true regulation happens.

That is self love in action.

So just to recap, because I know that was a little bit of a lot in a quick amount of time, we talked about three things.

Pretty much here's it, here's the whole episode in three small statements.

Fear is not your flaw, it's your data.

Self love isn't confidence, it's actually listening.

And regulation will always be pushing through every single time.

You do not need to wait for fear to disappear, to keep moving forward.

You move forward with it.

You just ask it to take the back seat, you thank it for trying to keep you safe.

You stay grounded, you feel supported, it says okay, and then you continue to paddle.

Now, if this episode helped you reframe fear, even just a little bit, here's how you can help me keep this podcast going.

Please save this episode, Share it with somebody who might need to hear it.

Send it to your bestie who's been hard on herself or himself or feeling afraid.

And that's how the message reaches more people and helps me continue to show up for you.

As always, stay fabulous, stay beautiful, and no matter what, keep paddling forward.

Thanks for paddling through this episode with me.

If today's conversation moves something and you share it, tag me at anacondiewalters or at Mermaids or drop a review to help this ripple reach more hearts.

Remember, healing isn't linear, wellness isn't one size fits all, and you don't have to navigate any of it alone.

Keep breathing, keep trusting, and no matter what wave you're riding, keep paddling forward.

I'll meet you here next time.