When I think about fear, I wonder how to face it and when it will come for me. I would often ask myself: "What am I so afraid of?" There are many answers to this question of being afraid - or at least there were in previous years. In recent years when my fears got the best of me, things like self-doubt, low self-esteem and sadness settled into my daily life and routine. I was given no choice but to turn this around, keep going and rely on faith. I have two children, family and friends and a career to maintain. I could not let this fear of losing myself to everything and everyone else get the best of me so I pressed on by telling myself "I have to get better and do better." And, I did!
The main thing I was fearful of was not being enough. Enough of a good person, available enough, good enough, strong enough or even a good writer. We are all at different places in our lives and the main thing I had to do was to stop comparing my journey with the journey of other people. There will be someone who writes a better blog post, a more in depth book or makes the ultimate network connection. Focus on your journey and not the fear of the path to get there.
I do not like failure and this is what fear feels like to me - failure. In order for me to get through my fears, I had to share with others in hopes of helping them also. I went back to my roots of faith and put a positive spin on fear and came up with my definition of fear and wouldn't you know it, faith is the first word:Faith, Ease, Assurance, Reliance.
Throughout this blog and in my book, A Life With A View, I talk about faith in great detail as it is the foundation of how I began writing. The more I would write and focus on faith to carry me through the good and the not so good times, the less I feared not being good enough or strong enough to be a writer. I keep this phrase near and dear and very close to me as I go about my day: I now have the Faith to conquer challenges with Ease and I am Assured that my Reliance on the things that I value will carry me through.
Is fear holding you back from moving forward or making a decision that will change your life? Start with faith; it has so many meanings and find out what your faith looks like and what resonates with you. Remember, your journey is yours and belongs to you. Go easy. Take your time. Celebrate your progress no matter how large or small.
Share in the comments below how you tackle and face fear and what you have overcome. Let's talk about ways to push past fear. Focus on the good things, the positive outcomes and the path which leads to your faith.
