It was only the other day my girl posted a caption on her photo that really got me thinking, it was titled ‘fear is our greatest failure’. And whilst it most certainly can be, it can also be the fuel to some of our greatest triumphs. Perspective really is one of the most magical tools.
Whilst often our subconscious allows fear to dictate our choices, our conscious is often pushing us to chase it..“Do something every day that scares you” a quote we’ve all heard, but realistically, unless you understand the why behind this it’s pretty useless and can easily be misconstrued…
Pema Chödrön tells the story of a young warrior who learns to defeat fear by asking fear itself how it can be done. Fear tells her:
“My weapons are that I talk fast, and I get very close to your face. Then you get completely unnerved, and you do whatever I say. If you don’t do what I tell you, I have no power. You can listen to me, and you can have respect for me. You can even be convinced by me. But if you don’t do what I say, I have no power.”
Summarized, fear is your greatest opponent and also a bully. It will resign itself to panic you, it will attempt to tell you what to do, and should you do as it demands, it gains power. However, should you take control of your pace, acknowledge what fear tells you but do the opposite, you build courage, you gain power.
I’ve mentioned this before, but its important to adapt our minds to use negative emotions as signals. When you feel a type of way, it’s about taking a breath, slowing it down and allowing yourself the time to understand your feels, understanding YOU and your energy is paramount… (thats a whole other blog post which ill get round too..) so, with that said, we can use fear as an indicator. Sometimes it signals something you shouldn’t do. Yet more often than not it shows you exactly what you should do.. The majority of the most life changing and powerful moments in my life have all been from asking myself a simple question: “What’s the worst that can happen?” and to be realistic with it.
Once you’ve acknowledged the feeling , assessed the situation and you’ve established a realistic answer to what can happen, guess what – you’ve regained power. Should you then pursue said situation (person or experience) you’re opening yourself up to a whole new world of opportunities you never thought you had, you’re controlling your thoughts and dam is that liberating. You’ve learnt to assign realistic values to the things that scare you and LIVE.
So stop pre judging yourself and think for a moment, open yourself up to pleasure whilst giving yourself room for set backs – knowing it’s not going to ruin you but help you to excel.
LIFE IS FOR LIVING & OUR TIME IS NOW!