What is Fear?

We all know what fear feels like, but what is it? Oxford Languages defines fear as “an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain or a threat. ”

Alright, I think we all know that; however, let’s look at “an unpleasant emotion” and “belief. “

Believing in Fear

In certain situations, fear can save lives. The Sympathetic nervous system kicks in and prepares us to fight or flee. We can lift cars off children. That’s good stuff. Probably one of the reasons humanity survived the early years.  Fear is a necessary emotion.

But not all fears are life and death. Putting belief into fear gives it energy to grow and permeate into areas of our lives that we don’t need.

An Unpleasant Emotion

In many situations, fear stifles us. It keeps us from our true purpose. We become trapped in our thoughts and negativity. Honestly, this sounds more uncomfortable than facing fear.

To some degree, this is not all of our fault. Some of these fears present when we are young, and we don’t know how to fully process them. Some of them are fears passed on to us from our parents, their parents, and even farther back in our ancestral lines. 

This means you are looking at the world through a distorted aura (lens), and your energy flow is congested with negativity, fragmented memories, and inaccuracy. 

We play fearful narratives repeatedly in our minds, and those thoughts play out in our bodies with our heart rates and blood pressures rising due to hormone releases and the foods we eat to self-medicate. 

All from the luxury of our couches where no real threat exists. 

Your body knows little difference between your fearful thoughts and the actual event. So if you worry about something seven times a day, you put your body through the experience you create in your head seven times a day. Complete with hormone releases and exhaustion.  It’s time to change this pattern, step through the fear, trust it will all work out, and get your energy back.

To me, all the fearful narratives, anxieties, distorted auras, congested energy flows, and high heart rate and blood pressure feel more unpleasant (and lasts longer) than stepping through the fear.

Renaming Fear

When you step outside of your ego, that part of you that is very much human and whose primary purpose is the preservation of self, and recognize there is something more significant to you – something divine and ever-living, you’ll begin to realize, it comes down to your narrative.

Once we recognize there isn’t a threat, it’s time to call it something else. I’ve learned to call it opportunity. 

It’s an opportunity to recognize old patterns that might have helped in one specific situation but no longer hold value. To identify ancestral programming that does not apply today. An opportunity to learn, grow, and heal. It gives us the ability to break free from societal pressures. 

Once you figure out that it’s something to walk through and not avoid, you can see it as a door, not a wall. This awareness is significant for holistic wellness. 

Making the Change

Reading this post brings awareness.  The next step is doing the work. The work is where the doors open, and the walls fade. It is where the magic and the miracles happen.  

It is interesting how many of us allow our fearful, negative internal voice to influence the decisions we make in our life. For example, while having lunch with a friend a while back, I realized I was making decisions from a “they won’t like me” point of view.  This fear-packed warped view was blocking me from even starting on some ideas I had. So I committed that every time this fearful voice popped into my head, I would reply, “What if they all love me?”

I began working from a perspective of being loved and left worrying about not being liked for IF it happened. Not long after that, doors opened, and my life took a new positive direction. Those changes kept me motivated to continue to work at it.

As we change these patterns, we remove blocks to our true calling. We can explore with curiosity and align our energy in a positive way that attracts more positivity.

Stepping Through Your Fear

If you would, slow down and take a breath when you feel fear.

Ask Yourself:

• Am I really in danger?
• Does my sympathetic, fight-or-flight system need to be activated because my life is in danger, or am I releasing unnecessary hormones and wreaking havoc on my immune system because of old thought patterns and fears?
• Where did those come from?
• Do they serve a useful purpose for me now? 
• Are they holding me back? 
• What is this feeling trying to tell you?
• What will  you rename it? 

Remind Yourself

We find growth in dis-comfort. We are not always meant to be comfortable. If you are really looking for a change in your life, start exploring the thoughts, ideas, and actions that scare you. Be curious!!

Along with feeling empowered, when you walk through your fear, you can learn the following:

• You are capable
• It is not uncomfortable for long
• It is not as bad as your mind will have you think (change that narrative!)
• The outcome of walking through your fear is filled with more rewards than doing nothing!