Paradoxical Intention - concept from Viktor Frankl

When there is fear, there is the chance to explore its source and explore the inherent reaction stemming from the ego and the distorted mind. Fear is a portal to our inner vulnerabilities and unresolved situations from our past, present, and future selves. Exploring fear and its meaning requires non-identification with the present or past self; to accept the seemingly negative feeling of fear as a portal to deeper self-discovery. Leaning into the seemingly deep discomfort of the moment to gain deeper insights into the self.

Paradoxical Intention is a concept to overcome fear first proposed by Viktor Frankl, the renowned holocaust-survivor psychiatrist who invented logotherapy (a branch of psychotherapy). When you implement paradoxical intention, you expose yourself to fear, leaning into it as opposed to against it. Exposure can happen at varying degrees, also depending on the intensity of the fear sensation. If you fear or feel embarrassed about your apparent inability to develop friendships and deep interpersonal connections with other individuals, you may dive into paradoxical intention by going to a pub three times a week and striking up a conversation with at least one person each time.

Then you may escalate the exposure to more seemingly scary challenges over time so that you gain increasingly deeper control of the inner Resistance and internalize your new-found capacity to speak and connect with other people and be just fine, no matter how they respond. You control your behavior and beliefs; you do not control the reaction of others. That switch toward an action-focused mindset is paradoxical intention and can be liberating and expansive instead of closed and scarce like when you succumb to the fear or insecurity within yourself.