Feel the Fear and Jump!
Fear doesn’t stop life from unfolding.
This statement made me stop and think. As a chronic worrier being fearful was an ingrained pattern. I constantly worried about life’s ‘what ifs’, somehow hoping my worry would circumvent any bad event that could create feelings of loss, pain or sorrow, from happening. Did it work? NO!
Chronic worriers feel safer when we worry. We like to believe that we are in control of the events in our life. But it’s truly just an illusion. Focusing on worst-case scenarios doesn’t keep bad things from happening. It only keeps you from enjoying the good things that are right in front of you. Miss that moment and you miss living!
Had my ability to worry actually had the power to keep painful life events at bay, I would have experienced a very different life journey. Instead, my life has been rich in loss, sorrow, and pain created by trauma and experiences that I now view as stepping stones that made me a more courageous, compassionate and kinder woman.
When I review my life, I see that worrying didn’t stop the event from happening, instead, it attracted the event into my life. It was the way the universe showed me that I was strong enough to handle anything I feared, along with teaching me that our thoughts become our reality. We truly can’t afford the luxury of even one negative thought!
Not all worrying is bad. Being fearful can help you take action and even keep you safe when faced with a dangerous situation. But its when the ‘what ifs’ take over your mind and stop you from living, that the fear and worry becomes a problem.
Being chronically fearful sucks your energy, your motivation and keeps you living small. But there is hope. You can change this habit energy by retraining your brain to help you become a more positive, happy and confident person.
Worry kept me from enjoying the beautiful moments right in front of me and stressed my mind, body, and spirit. But it doesn’t have to be that way for you. The next time the worry and doubts start to surface try one of these practices to let go of the fear and get back to enjoying your life:
- Give yourself space to feel the fear. Emotions tell us when something is out of sync. Don’t try to squash the fear. Honor the feeling and then let it go!
- Get outside and get moving. Take a hike or a walk and feel the sun on your face, the wind in your hair or the raindrops on your tongue. As you move your body you get out of your head and into the moment.
- Meditate. Drop your butt onto a pillow or chair and take five minutes to quiet your mind.
- Focus on your breathe. Bring your awareness to breathing in and breathing out. I know it sounds simple but you can’t panic when you are breathing slow, deep cleansing breaths.
- Journal. Write down your fears and work through all the ‘what if’ scenarios by dumping your thoughts every morning on a clean sheet of white paper. Give yourself 15 minutes to write out your worries and you’ll be amazed at the space that opens for creativity.
You can hide away in your fears but then you stop living the amazing life you were meant to live. Yes, experiences, both good and bad will happen. But its truly only when faced with adversity that we dig deep into the core of who we are to learn the lessons the universe is trying to teach us and grow emotionally and spiritually.
So if you feel overwhelmed with worry don’t accept this as your destiny. Reach beyond the fear by feeling it and then leap forward into the unknown in spite of it. When you do the rewards will amaze you and you will look back in wonderment asking yourself why you didn’t jump sooner!
With love + light,
