Image by Ramy Youssef
Fear.
The tiny four-letter word that can block you from really living your life.
The powerful word that stops you from launching your dream business. Sending the text. Going on the date. Saying, "I love you." Pressing send on the email. Making the call. Buying the house. Singing out loud. Entering the marathon. Getting on the plane. Trying something new. Stepping outside your comfort zone.
Fear.
The biggest thing that is killing your progress.
As human beings we are either growing or dying -- physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally. Fear eats away at your soul, causes stress and illness, and stops you from reaching (and living at) your full potential. The good news is you have a choice. You can live out of fear or you can live out of love. It's very simple -- left or right, up or down, hot or cold, love or fear... You get to choose.
In modern life, with the multitude of options laid before us, it may seem like we are bombarded with choices. But the truth is, there's only ever two paths to pick from -- love or fear. Yep, in almost every situation, in every facet of your life, it comes down to that one simple choice.
So which are you choosing? Are you working in a job you loathe because you fear you won't be able to pay the rent? Are you flogging your body for hours at the gym because you fear putting on weight? Are you in a relationship because you're scared to be alone? Are you numbing your emotions with ice-cream and cookies because you don't want to feel the suppressed feelings bubbling under the surface? Are you putting up with toxic, negative "friends" who are constantly putting you down because you're afraid you won't make any new friends?
If these examples are ringing alarm bells, then it's highly likely you're living in fear. But guess what? You don't have to. You have the power to choose love and it all comes down to worthiness. It's all about asking yourself this one important question: Do you believe you are worthy of a life bursting with love?
We are all born into this world perfect, whole, beautiful little bundles of joy. But along our journey, we get conditioned to forget this fact. We start to pick up negative beliefs, learn bad habits and generally begin to question our worthiness.
The process can be quite insidious, and it persists throughout our lives. In grade school you might get told you are slow and no good at maths. In junior high, you get bullied on the bus and called fat during gym class. At age 21, you experience your first heartbreak. At 25, you rack up $20,000 worth of credit card debt. At 35, you get divorced. Then at 45 you go through a midlife crisis as you realise that your life looks nothing like the one you'd always imagined. The cumulative effect can be enough to turn even the brightest spirit into a fearful, damaged soul.
But there is a way out of the fear.
Way too many people wait until they experience some sort of drastic event before they address the way they're living their life. They wait until the car accident or the heart attack or the scary diagnosis.
But the truth is, you don't have to wait to change your life. You don't need to hit rock bottom in order to start shifting your beliefs and letting go of the stuff that's not serving you.
Those painful experiences that we've all had in some form or another DO shape and mould us, but they DON'T have to dictate your life's path. Your job is to take them and use them to inspire you out of your fear and into love. It's about not letting them become the defining part of your story, and choosing to blaze your own trail instead.
Making the shift from fear to love will quite literally change your life. It's the most powerful thing you can do. It will change everything for you. And the best thing is it's free, it's fast and is works.
Living fearlessly is an art.
Just as a painter turns up to his blank canvas every morning, you need to show up every day with the intention to choose love over fear. It's takes work, dedication and commitment. You will be tested time and time again, but it's all part of the process. It's all just an opportunity to choose love and live fearlessly.
As a self-love mentor and success speaker, I'm often asked if it's possible to completely get rid of fear.
My answer? No, but your awareness around it shifts. You get better and better at not letting fear run -- and ruin -- your life. You start to chip away at the marble shroud that's been chasing your heart and keeping you small, to reveal the true magnificence that's been present inside you all along.
In short, you become the Michelangelo of your own life. And let me tell you, it's an incredible way to live.
Now I want to hear from you. Do you have any specific ways you let go of fear when it comes up? Share with me in the comments below. Your insight may be the one thing that really inspires someone else to take action and change their life, so share away in the comments.
Love Melissa
For more great resources from Melissa Ambrosini go to www.MelissaAmbrosini.com