Fear.
No individual born on this planet is immune to it. Sometimes it is a very helpful instinct that protects us and keeps us out of harm's way. On other occasions we allow our negative thoughts and emotions to take control over us. Our inner voice then becomes a barrier that keeps us trapped in inertia, stuck in a rut instead of pursuing the things we desire and becoming who we truly know ourselves to be.
As a very insecure and fearful child, teenager and adult well into my forties, I was so scared I did not dare do much outside the known and safe limits of my comfort zone, I know firsthand what it feels like to be entrapped in your own fear. Oh, I had lofty dreams and I aspired to change the world, sure. But I simply could not muster the strength to face my fears head-on and fight them. I'm talking about the irrational fears, the nagging, nasty voices that existed solely in my head, not in the physical world. What if people would laugh at me if I posted my thoughts?What If I was not good enough?
After a couple of years of meditation, yoga, journalling and doing the inner work, and the encouragement of friends and family, I realised I need not run from my fear. I embraced it. I looked it in the eye. It roared angrily at me. I was shivering but I was determined, so I roared right back at it, as loud as I could. Suddenly it seemed smaller and not quite as intimidating. I decided to invite it for a dance. Since then me and my fears do everything together. I dare do what I fear. I do it while scared to death. I'm almost at the end of my postgraduate course but I haven't gone bungee jumping yet and taking my driver's licence is still something I am debating. But I'm going to do it anyway. It's a dance, right? So I figured, why not enjoy it at least?
As a lifelong bookworm I absolutely love quotes and they have been a tremendous help in overcoming or rationalising some of my craziest fears. Below I list some of my favourites.
1."You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself "I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along." -Eleanor Roosevelt
2. "If you want to conquer fear, don't sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy." -Dale Carnegie
3."The amateur believes that he must first overcome his fear;then he can do his work. The professional knows that fear can never be overcome.He knows there is no such thing as a fearless warrior or a dread-free artist." - Steven Pressfield
4. "What you fear is what you must conquer." - Lailah Gifty-Akita
5. "I learned that courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." - Nelson Mandela
6."There is no illusion greater than fear." - Lao Tzu
7. "If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you." - Saint Thomas
8."The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." - Franklin D. Roosevelt
9. "Extreme fear can neither fight nor fly." - William Shakespeare
10. "You can conquer almost any fear if you will only make up your mind to do so. For remember, fear doesn't exist anywhere except the mind." - Dale Carnegie
11. "What we need to do is say, "What's the smallest, tiniest thing that I can master and what's the scariest thing that I can do in front of the smallest number of people that can teach me how to dance with the fear?" Once we get good at that, we just realize that it's not fatal. And it's not intellectually realize - we've lived something that wasn't fatal. And that idea is what's so key- because then you can do it a little bit more." - Seth Godin
12. "When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
13. "Fears are educated into us and can, if we wish, be educated out." -Karl Augustus Menninger
14. "We are more often frightened than hurt;and we suffer more from imagination than reality." - Seneca
15. "Instead of worrying about what people say of you, why not spend time trying to accomplish something they will admire." - Dale Carnegie
16. "One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't." - Henry Ford
17. "When you are thinking about doing something and it feels scary, when it feels like this big lion is waiting at the finish line and he's roaring and he's ferocious and he's going to tear you apart....you should just run toward that lion anyway. Run to the roar." -Tina Essmaker
18. "Courage is the power of the mind to overcome fear." - Martin Luther King Jr.
19. "Fear is inevitable, I have to accept that, but I cannot allow it to paralyse me". -Isabel Allende
20. "I have learnt over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear;knowing what must be done does away with fear." - Rosa Parks
There are numerous more quotes on fear and each is as wise as the above. I quoted the ones that spoke to me more, that were unique to me. Fear is our permanent dancing companion for life and it is not as insurmountable or intimidating as we make it out to be. If you constantly hear your fear roar, do not cower; this time choose to roar louder. Brace yourself, be determined to take action nevertheless, show up as your best self and everything that you were afraid of will diminish.It's a choice like everything else in life. Choose boldly and courageously.Let your actions speak for the strength of your character and shine!
As always sending you ripples of positivity and love,
Lia
No comments:
Post a Comment