Fearlessness comes in many diverse forms. We frequently hear stories of heroism from the ranks of the military. First responders walk into burning buildings. Extreme athletes jump off mountain tops and buildings with man-made parachutes or bungee cords. Activists all over the world speak out with little thought to their safety. All these courageous people face situations we believe probably should evoke feelings of intense fear -- real fear, yet they do what they do anyway.
In place of the real fear some people face, there are also perceived fears. These are not life-threatening, but instead born of our imagination. In her best-selling book, On Becoming Fearless in Love, Work and Life, Arianna Huffington addresses these perceived fears and offers solutions based upon her own set of experiences in life. They can be classified into fear of judgment, fear of disapproval, fear of rejection and ultimately, fear of loss. Who better than one of the most fearless women of our time to talk about living fearlessly?
Arianna Huffington has been a strong advocate for women's rights even before she became President of the Cambridge Union, a famed debating society. She has made her mark on the political world, running for Governor of California in 2003, in the literary world as a syndicated columnist and author of 14 books and in 2005, launched the Huffington Post. This blog site is one of the most widely-read, linked to and frequently cited media brands on the Internet. Today, besides serving on several international boards, she is chair, president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group.
Of all her accomplishments, the one she is most proud of is having raised two daughters, mostly as a single mother. Speaking of her own mother she writes, "The way she lived her life and faced her death have taught me so much about overcoming fear." And she passes on the legacy left by her mother and other mentors -- a valuable legacy for any child.
Arianna talks about how women, in particular, measure their worth by how they look. They live with the fear of comparison. She writes, "the sooner we realize that our happiness and the meaning of our life are not by-products of how we look, the sooner we can move to fearlessness." Conformity seldom leads to success in life.
Relationships are another part of life that can cause fear -- fear of rejection, judgment and loss. In On Becoming Fearless, she writes,
One of women's biggest fears is the disapproval of the men in their lives. And the price we are willing to pay to avoid this often includes being untrue to ourselves...The bottom line is that you can't be in a fearless, fulfilling relationship and be looking over your shoulder for approval at the same time. You've got to choose.
She goes on to speak about being fearless at work, saying that most women are so concerned about alienating people, they go out of their way to keep the peace, many times at the expense of advancement in their chosen careers.
In all of these examples, Arianna remains true to her premise that in order to live life fearlessly, you have to speak YOUR truth and stand up for what YOU believe in. She reminds us that being fearless doesn't necessarily mean a total lack of fear, that each individual fear is a small hurdle to step over. By applying this simple but effective approach, we soon discover that the hurdles don't seem like giant obstacles, simply part of life that may signal a short detour -- a detour that doesn't stop us from being who we are.
Much of this important work is synthesized and explored in a brand new meditation series entitled, "On Becoming Fearless -- a 21 Day Meditation Journey." In collaboration with Mentors Channel, Arianna will present her life-changing writings to a large, global community of online meditators, beginning March 31. The series explores how to overcome everyday fears such the fear of aging, dealing with divorce, letting go of the need for approval, learning to be happy with life's imperfections and so much more.
Mahatma Gandhi wrote, "True morality consists not in following the beaten track, but in finding the true path for ourselves, and fearlessly following it." Arianna Huffington has never followed the beaten path. She has lived her life boldly, courageously and fearlessly and that is the key to her enormous success. We invite you to join us for this transformative world-wide event so that you too can discover the fearless person you truly are.