“Fear is only as deep as the mind allows.”
– Japanese proverb
Fear once had a use, when we were naked in the woods and had to wonder if the rustling in the woods was something that we could eat or if it was something that could eat us. Now, most of us live a coddled life of comfort, and our biggest worry about food is whether to order from Postmates or UberEats.
Despite this, we still have fears – fear of failure, fear of public speaking, fear of leaving a job that’s no longer resonating with our highest purpose. The list can go on, and the only way to know what they are is to list them.
Like we’ve talked about before, getting your thoughts out gives you a chance to separate from them. It’s no different for your fears.
For today’s prompt from Five Minutes in the Morning, list everything you’re afraid of. As you create your list, make note of how each fear makes you feel.
Here’s what I wrote:
I’m afraid of people in the sense that I’ll disappoint them or let them down, or once they get to know me they’ll only see the ugly bits too.
I may fear success because I hear my mom’s judgmental voice calling out people who have more than she has, but I realize that’s her own insecurities about money & wealth projected onto me, & I say no thank you to that.
I’m fearful that I can only ever love myself, & I don’t mean in a vain way. I mean that who else but me could ever love me the way I love me, the way I want to be loved? Maybe the fear of people is really a fear of being unable to communicate my needs & therefor having them ignored. I wonder where that came from.
I used to have a fear of not knowing everything, but can you imagine how boring life would be if you already knew everything?
Fear is an illusion & as such it cannot exist.
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