3 Steps to Boldly Embracing and Moving through Fears
“The opposite of bravery is not cowardice but conformity” – Robert Anthony
Embracing our fears
Change is supremely inconvenient, uncomfortable and naturally scary. Yet we only move through life through the process of change, reinvention and renewal. Bravery is our quintessential rebel for pushing us past our own limiting beliefs and behaviours. Bravery is feeling the fear, immersing yourself into it and through it so you can come out the other side. We can choose to embrace a more fearless way of living by understanding that our fears actually direct us to something within that we need to work through and overcome. Like a beacon in the depth of darkness that seeks recognition and reception. Rather than avoid, battle against and box away what makes us fearful, we can intuitively guide ourselves to the source of the anxiety so we can challenge ourselves to revolutionise it.
Our fears are our detectives for much needed inner work. As long as we refute them they will gain more power to paralyse and illusively protect us from the existential signature of life. Life is about movement and evolution.
Suspicious and fearful living eats away at our transparency and infinite possibilities toward our higher intentions and desires.
As children we are born fearless with a beautiful sense of adventure, transiency, and curiosity. We relished the magic and the mystery. When we fell, we got back up without a second thought, and each time we rose we became stronger through the golden touch of inner confidence and self belief. We cannot go back, yet we can challenge our thinking, intelligently manage our emotions and expose ourselves to what keeps us frozen and fearful. Freedom is found through our fears. We evolve by inspiring our fibres of virtuous courage to shine warmth and wonder within.
“Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free” – Jim Morrison
1. Dig Deep and Uncover your fears
We flow through life with a certain degree of faith- something that fear inherently shuts us off from. It closes all windows and doors to the core of our existence- our vulnerability and heart power. Beyond our surface level agitation and worry lies truth. This is something that we work to uncover layer by layer. We are often afraid of our inner depths and the darker sides of our emotions, yet we can only illuminate them once we acknowledge and accept them- we should not be afraid of our own inherent light and magnitude of spirit. Digging deep means unmasking and chiselling away at what stubbornly sticks within you. Fear drains our energy and roots us to the same spot where nothing grows and creativity falls to a deep sleep.
Rather than allowing irrationality and illusory fears to govern our actions and hold us back we can grasp the reins and channel our energy more positively. Nothing moves until we do. When we do the vital inner work we naturally make small yet significant steps to greater inner strength. Piece by piece we begin to pull back our freedom and we liberate our hearts.
“If fear is cultivated it will become stronger, if faith is cultivated it will achieve mastery” -John Paul Jones
2. Reflect Upon and Question your Thoughts
Our brains sole purpose is to keep us safe and comfortable within what feels familiar. In doing so, our patterns of thinking (if they remain unchecked) will ensure that we never try anything new, reach our goals, or aspire to the slightest hints of our grandest potential. We lie to ourselves and hide behind our own faults and negative thinking habits- yet bravery is born from the springs of an honest platform. When we can reflect upon and question what we think and what we feel we encourage an inner dialogue that we can mindfully engage in. We don’t need to believe everything we think. Our mind and heart dance within us. When we lend more weight to our heart we consciously revert back to our authenticity.
Quiet time away from external noise helps to bring us back to a centred place within where we can sift through what thoughts help us over and above those that hinder us. We coax our fears into a loving space so we can dissipate them through grace, compassion, and tenderness.
“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light” – Plato
3. Adjust your perceptions and humanise your fears
A fear can very quickly grow if we inspire its evolution through our mental and emotional channels. What makes us afraid can gain momentum. Fears magnify and add a heavy weight to beliefs and thoughts unless we can adjust our perceptions and look for the bigger picture. When we begin to hear the shallow echoes of fears and doubts creeping in, instead of denying and rejecting them we should navigate ourselves toward them. If we can catch our fears in their infancy then we can prompt a wise response rather than a frustrated deferral of what it speaks of. It is completely natural for us to feel afraid. Feeling fear means that we are hitting another level of growth, awareness and maturity. Fears don’t need to be the monsters to our soul, it is only us that can give them that power.
When we lovingly humanise our fears instead of demonising them they become our fuel for change, expanding our mental outlook, and enhancing our emotional strength.
“The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection” – Thomas Paine
When we take the time to patiently work through fearful thoughts and experiences, we move toward a calmer and cohesive mindset. One that is galvanised through our heart space, emotional rhythm and our inner power.
We should not be afraid of our fears. With love and grit we can embrace them as deep learning curves for getting bolder and braver at life.
“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
Read more about the truth beneath our fears, hope you found this read helpful! Please share, thanks, Chrissy 🙂
Categorised as: Inspiration, Personal Growth and Spirituality, Well Being and Mindfulness