MAY 28, 2020
Fear is the oldest and deepest of all emotions. Fear is usually about an imagined, not actual future which keeps you from moving forward in life. Fear is often said to stand for, “False Expectations Appearing Real.” When you worry about an imagined fear filled future, your emotions often draw that imagined feared experience to you. We have talked before about what fears we each may have in our lives. Fear of not belonging. Fear of not being accepted. Fear of not having enough of something or fear of losing something. All legitimate fears that many of us face each and every day.
Most of our fears have to do with the fear of failure. This is an emotion. I recently read a great book by Ryan Holiday entitled, “The Obstacle is the Way.” (Two other great books by Holiday are “The Ego is the Enemy” and “Stillness is the Key.”) Holiday reminds us that every obstacle we may face in life is an opportunity to practice some virtue. It might be patience, courage, humility, resourcefulness, reason, justice and creativity. Many times, when we face a tragedy or a loss in our lives, we become paralyzed. My take is that we are learning a new lesson in life that we may not have experienced before. This is the time to reflect, listen, HEAL and look for the opportunity to make positive changes in your life. This is growth and improvement.
Whatever we face in life, we have a choice. Will that choice be blocked by obstacles or will we advance through and over them? The world will constantly test us each and every day. Are you worthy? Can you get past the things that will inevitably come your way? Will you stand up and show what you are made of? Many people have answered these questions in the affirmative. These are challenges in life and rare is the breed that thrive and rally at every such challenge. That challenge makes them better than if they had never faced the adversity at all.
Plan on obstacles in your life. They may be big or small but they will be there. Take time to reflect on them but don’t take too long or you will become paralyzed.
Go with your gut as to what the right answer is for your situation. If you have a right-heart, you will normally make the right decision.
Don’t be afraid. Be strong and courageous in your life. Take a little risk and step outside of yourself. If you just keep moving ahead slowly, when you get to the future, you may find it wasn’t as scary as you expected. Just take your first step. You can do it.
Elevator Guy