Take the journey from fear to freedom
Fear, is a short four lettered word that can make a world of a difference to our lives. How we feel affects how we are in situations. It can limit and even determine our actions and the joy we experience from situations and life in general.
As people, we carry fear about so many things, our bodies – how we look and don’t look, Love – fear of being hurt or letting in love mostly, speaking up – is it ok to say this? how will others see me when I say this ? Parenting – are we doing it right? Work, could we do it different or better? Money – will we have enough? Aging– getting old and ill health– how will I cope or will I or my family be ok?
Fear of change is a very big one and we see that everywhere.
I often say to people that the journey of meditation is the journey from fear to freedom.
When we meditate, our mind slows down and we see more clearly how our thinking is affecting our minds and our lives. This very understanding enables us to identify what is blocking us and is a first step to overcoming fear.
When we are free we make decisions, and take actions as per the situation and not to avoid what we are afraid of. We make decisions and act to bring the best to and get the best out of a situation.
Fear prevents us from seeing what is important. It blinds and emotionally paralyses us and makes us go into the fight, flight or fright response.
For much of my life, I made many decisions based on fear. In some situations, I was afraid to say yes to life and opportunities and in others I was afraid to say no because I felt I should do certain things even if I did not feel deep down that I was the best placed person do them.
Higher good did not figure. If someone asked me to do something and if I did not have a prior commitment at that time, for the most part I readily agreed without meaningfully assessing the situation.
When we feel afraid we do not make the most resourceful decisions. When we feel fear, our mind and breathing becomes stressed which further aggravates our fear. Our breath becomes shallow. Our body tenses. Regular fear based thoughts kill our confidence, and adds to stress, anxiety, exhaustion, sleeplessness and tension and dis- ease in the body.
When a reasonable thought of fear enters our mind, we should look at it, do our best to address it and let it go.
The line ‘ feel the fear but do it anyway’ is a good one. When you feel fear, take some action towards addressing what you feel fear about.
If public speaking scares you, practice what you want to say, say it alone, then say it in front of one person, then in front of more people and then go out and express in a small group. If I want to run a marathon I will expect to train daily for months. I break it down into smaller parts and build up.
The same strategy works with overcoming fear. The fear diminishes. When we take no action, or procrastinate, fear amplifies. If you cannot address it alone, ask for help. Breaking things down into smaller steps works and builds resolve, strength and confidence along the way.
If a fear is holding you back, why not have a look at it this week and take action to address it. It is so empowering and builds inner confidence. You have so much to gain by dealing with it.