The Other Side of Fear

Throughout life, we have many things that will stand in the way of our dreams...or at least attempt to. There will be bumps in our road, fallen trees in our path, and mountains to climb; but one of the biggest thing that will stand in our way, is our own fear.

Often times, we tend to get lost in our fears. They keep us from moving forward with our lives. We see them as blockages, and that tends to hold us back the majority of the time. What most people don't realize is that fear is a product of our own mind and imagination. George Addair once said, "Everything you've ever wanted is sitting on the other side of fear." What does that mean? That means that in order to reach our goals, we have to be willing to, not only face our fears, but to conquer them.

Now, as you can imagine, that is not always the easy thing to do. It takes determination and a lot of courage, which can be difficult at times. You see, fear comes from our ego. Our ego is there to protect us. It seeks out danger, and then comes up with fears, doubts, and thoughts that make us second guess ourselves, in order to keep us from venturing out of our comfort zone. In other words, it protects us from any harm that may come to us from the outside world. It keeps us from taking risks. Unfortunately, most of the time, we cannot reach our goals without taking risks.

This is something that I have struggled with for most of my life. I was always afraid to take risks for fear of not fitting in or of being judged by others or for fear of just being wrong. I still sometimes fear the unknown, everyone does at one point or another. It's just part of life. I have slowly over the years learned to take more risks, which has really broadened my horizons, so to speak. I have definitely learned to step out of my comfort zone more than I used to. It's still a work in progress, but I feel like I am getting better.

Looking back, I can see some of the different fears I have conquered. A huge one was my fear of being alone. For most of my life, I was very codependent, which led me to experience multiple unhealthy relationships and friendships. I met my, now, husband, and our journey taught me to conquer this particular fear. You see, we took some time apart, and during this time, I realized that with him was the only place I wanted to be. So I took that time and worked on myself. During this process, I conquered my fear of being alone, making me realize that I did not "need" him in my life, but I "wanted" him in my life. I also realized that I did not need anyone to take care of me. I was perfectly fine taking care of myself. Once I realized that, the Universe brought us back together and we are coming up on celebrating our first wedding anniversary. He is such a blessing. I thank God for him every day, as well as for the confidence I gained during that life lesson.

Another example of facing my fear just happened about eight months ago when I walked away from my job in the medical field, which was the only thing I have ever known. I did this in order to open my own business. That was a truly giant step, as there are so many fears that can block you when you're starting your own business, as well as walking away from something you have done for most of your life. Will there be enough income to help with household expenses if I quit my full-time job? Will I be able to make enough inventory? Will I be able to find clients? These are all questions that I struggled with. I have been wanting to start this business for quite awhile now. I always talked about it, but taking that first step was a big one. Then, after I quit my job, the fear really set in. We had just bought a house and wanted to start a family, so I went into a panic. It was so scary, but with courage (and a lot of encouragement from my amazing husband), here I am doing it, and I can honestly say that I am absolutely loving what I do. That first step sure is a doozy, though.

We are, now, facing a new step in our journey, which has caused my ego to kick up some more fear; however, this time, I am handling it a little different. I am choosing to be brave and trust God, the Universe, Source, whatever you choose to call our higher power. I have stepped out of my comfort zone and know that God has us and will continue to send us what we need and lead us in the right direction. You see, He has proven time and again that He has us. Sometimes the best way to conquer fear is to trust. It also helps that Josh is by my side. When fear starts to creep up, he reminds me of everything we have been through to get us to this point, so far.

It does help to have a support system, no matter what the situation; someone to encourage you and remind you how far you have come already. A support system can be friends, family, pets, coworkers, anyone who is willing to give encouraging words or support to help you to overcome your fears. Unfortunately, not everyone has someone they can trust to act as a support system. In these cases, I encourage you take a moment and make a list of all of the struggles you have been through on one side of a paper. Then, on the other side, list how you overcame those struggles. Each struggle that you overcome in life takes courage, perseverance, and determination. Now look at that piece of paper and repeat those words, "Each struggle that you overcome in life takes COURAGE, PERSEVERANCE, and DETERMINATION, " and guess what...YOU did it! Do you know what that means? It means that you are braver than you think.

After doing this little exercise, if you are still struggling, reach out! I will encourag you to keep going and conquer your fears. Everyone deserves those words of encouragement, and everyone needs help time and again.

I hope that this helps everyone to realize that you can all reach your goals. Your biggest challenges are your own fears. Once you get past the fear, you won't believe how accomplished you feel. It is such an amazing feeling to be able to look back and realized that you did it. You did what you never thought was possible.

As always, I thank you all for taking the time to read my blog. I encourage you to comment your thoughts or ideas on conquering fears. I try to use examples from my own life, but I am sure others would enjoy reading about other people's experiences also. I would also enjoy reading your comments and words of encouragement for others. My goal with this blog is for us to all come together to help each other on our journeys. I hope everyone has an amazing day, and I hope to hear your thoughts on the post. Sending out Blessings and Love!