Could fear be holding you back from evolving to your full potential?
Fear can hold you back from stepping into your power and from living your soul’s true purpose. Fear creates resistance to the natural flow of events and blocks blessings. It can even prevent you from overcoming obstacles and recognizing your true strength. Fear can stop you in your tracks even when you’re on the right path. It can keep you from pursuing your dreams, from rewarding opportunities and relationships because fear squashes courage. Simply stated, fear keeps you stuck.
Over time, fear leads to feeling unfulfilled, sad, confused and even settles into the body creating illness, anxiety, imbalance and dis-ease. Humans are emotional creatures and need to be able to express, not repress emotions. Holding emotions inside means they’ll emerge elsewhere. Unprocessed emotional energy like fear gets stored in muscles, organs, tissues and bones. It leads to inflammation, chronic health problems and compromised health.
Often, I see fear stuck in the mid and low back, the kidneys and abdomen. Yes, your unresolved emotions and issues land in your tissues. It’s essential to acknowledge the fear, accept it and feel it fully – without judgment. This is the key to healing and conquering fear. Feel it to heal it!
The good news is you can choose to grow from your fear in a way that catapults you into a field of opportunity, adventure and liberation! Fear is a normal and often healthy human emotion. It’s what we choose to do with it that makes all the difference.
Rather than letting fear run the show, tune in to your body and listen to the fear. Is it a healthy signal of a potential threat to your safety or is it a chronic emotion fed by your ego-brain trying to keep you from trying something new? Are you drowning in a sea of fear; fear of failure, rejection, embarrassment or simply fear of not feeling good enough? You can get slapped by a wave of discontent and boredom in one moment and in the next get knocked over by fear of moving beyond the comfort of the familiar. So how do you navigate these choppy waters and choose to ride the wave of opportunity rather than then get stuck in the undercurrent of status quo?
First, discern the source of your anxiety...
… and then put your objective glasses on to see if your fears are real or mostly speculative. Some people tend to catastrophize and look only at the worst-case scenarios. If so, your fears could be keeping you stuck. One of the best definitions I’ve seen for fear is this: False Evidence Appearing Real.
False evidence keeps you comfortable and safe. Stagnant in fear, you’ll be most comfortable when you rationalize (I call them rational-lies) all the reasons why you can’t move forward. I have a sign in my office that I look at daily; it says, everything you want is on the other side of fear. This propels me forward, ever expanding my comfort zone and keeping me keenly aware of the excuses I create when fear sneaks in.
If you find yourself mired in fear, recognize this human condition
give yourself some compassion and then a gentle nudge forward. Trying and failing is so much less painful than settling and regretting never having tried. Don’t let fear take control. Fear stagnation, not failure!
There isn’t a single person who hasn’t met with failure, disappointment and the sting of defeat. Along this journey,failure is inevitable. When you look at it as simply part of the process, you’re more accepting. . My kids used to think I was crazy when I congratulated them for their little failures along the way. As young adults they see the wisdom in that encouragement. The greatest gift you can give yourself is to recognize that your journey toward realizing your dreams is never a straight path, but one dotted with hurdles, fears and valuable lessons.
Conquering fear makes you fierce, wise and free.
When fear rises up, pause, breathe and choose one small step that will move you beyond the current obstacle. Running from your fear is more painful than facing it. Don’t fight fear; it’s an opportunity to grow into a better version of yourself. That’s liberating and so much more fulfilling than staying stuck in dissatisfaction. When you face your fears, you’ll uncover the courage to overcome them and find the fulfillment and peace you desire and deserve.
About the Author
Linda Mitchell, a Professional Transformational Coach, is the founder of LIVING INSPIRED Coaching. She has been coaching and practicing in the healing arts for over 20 years, operating from a deep desire to empower people to move through life’s many challenges and transitions with ease and grace. Her unique “Reinvention Program” helps people reclaim balance, and better health and gain clarity on their next steps in order to define, create and truly live the life they desire. www.LivingInspiredCoaching.com
