Our fears can show us the best path forward, or they can define who we will be. Even though our life experiences are different, and thus we all view the world differently, the one commonality that binds us as humans is our natural inclination to be guided by our fears.
Fears are powerful whether they are acting as protector or creating a cage and keeping us stuck.
Through our past experiences we create unconscious rules and practices, defining what is acceptable and safe, and what should be avoided at all costs. This dictates our behaviors and the way we react to people and situations. Even when those rules are no longer relevant and do not serve us, we remain in that space mentally. We limit ourselves and what we believe is possible in our lives. Our daily routines become so automatic that we rarely stop to think about what we are doing, why we are doing it, or the order we are doing it in.
Just as dust gathers in our homes, so too does old programming accumulate in our minds. A little mental housekeeping can help us get unstuck and create a life of joy.
Mental housekeeping for the present:
1. Is there something you would like to do but keeping finding reasons not to? Are these reasons still relevant or are they old fears on repeat mode?
2. If there was nothing stopping you right now, what would your day look like? What work would you be doing? Who would you spend more time with, or spend less time with? Can you make this a new reality? Instead of going through the motions and functioning from habit, stop and see what still fits, what you can change, and what you can let go of.
3. In your interactions with others, ask yourself if you are responding from fear. Is your reaction really the way you feel or is it a past fear that may be attempting to protect you in this moment, but is no longer relevant? Asking yourself this can completely change your interaction with another person. In a relationship with a loved one, it can deepen the relationship when you are able to realize what is true for you now, and what is programming from the past.
4. When old fears and insecurities pop up, as they do when we are in a growth period, acknowledge them. Listen to the messages and the wisdom that lies within the messages, but do not let them govern your future by limiting you in the present.
Live in the present, creating each day anew. As fears surface, examine them.
• Recognize your growth since you last felt this way. You will realize that you are not the same person you were back then, and this helps to diminish the power of that fear.
• Visualize what the situation will look like if you push through the fear and say yes to whatever this moment has brought you. Do you like the picture this creates? If you do, say yes, knowing that you no longer need the fear to protect you, and can bravely step into the future.
