Fear is a word that we use many different ways, as a noun, a verb, an adjective, and a modifier in how we speak and in how we live. But as you have heard me say often, fear is not a thing. We do not fear ‘fear’, we fear consequences. And those consequences are very real – these things have happened to us but they do not have to keep happening to us and that is why learning to leverage fear is so important now. We can use our fears as stepping stones to greater potential when we learn the value of resistance and the true nature and potential of our fears.

Have you ever been afraid of something that you just cannot explain? Do you find yourself making excuses or making allowances for your fears automatically? Not sure what I am talking about? Here is an example – my fear of the cold in the podcast

Is there something you deliberately avoid for reasons you cannot explain? Do you avoid going near water because you’re afraid of drowning? Here is a somewhat funny but true way this manifests – story of mom and flash floods 

Here’s another way fear manifests – as anger you cannot explain or control. Does something ‘set you off’ and drive you ‘round the bend’ in ways that can sometimes embarrass you or make you wonder how you could react that way? I have quite a few examples of that with my clients, listen to the podcast for examples.

So what is going on here? Why are fears so important if everyone tells us they are limiters, we need to get over them, ignore them, pretend they don’t exist, make them the responsibility of the ego, release them, and move on anyway? Fears represent consequences from the past, whether we remember them or not. 

Fears are how we warn ourselves of upcoming dangerous situations that put our well being at risk. Fears remind us that we need to be cautious, reconsider, reorganize, reframe a situation, or retreat. 

Fears are not bad when used as a lever to lift us out of pain and suffering. But we misunderstand, underestimate, and misuse our fears so they become our controlling influences instead of a stepping stone on our path.

Read the rest of the article on the blog at enlighteninglife.com 

Created, narrated, and produced by Jennifer Hoffman.

Artwork by Jennifer Hoffman.

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