Living IN Fear, Not WITH Fear

Fear is an unpleasant emotion or thought that a person has when he/she is frightened or worried by someone or something identified as dangerous, painful or bad.

Fear is necessary in order to trigger the “flight, freeze or fight” response, which is our oldest natural survival mechanism.

Fear ensures our protection and reinforces our emotional and physical vigilance. When we live in our fear, we allow our fear to take over our lives and dictate the limits of our possibilities. We opt not to take chances because of the fear of failure. We sell ourselves short because of the fear of over-promising and under-delivering. We diminish the potential of our journeys by never venturing off the path that others have traveled before us.

When we live with fear, we acknowledge that it is here- it always has and will be here- but it is not a hindrance.

Instead of avoiding the things we fear, we face it directly, and respond.

When we craft and execute that response, we learn to embrace our fear as a part of us. It is no longer something to fight, but something to respond to.

Fear as an emotion is a permanent fixture. Fear is here…forever. It never left. It is for the individual to choose a direction: to live in fear or to live with fear.

When we choose to live in our fear, we make the conscious decision to not share our light and talents with the world. When we live with our fear, we balance that fear in a way that still allows us to share ourselves with the world.