***Fear: What is it really?

"He who fears he will suffer, already suffers from his fear." - Michel de Montaigne (1553 - 1592)

Fear is a sneaky emotion. Fear causes us to stop taking action. When we stop taking action we reinforce the fear. This way of being becomes an endless loop to get caught up in.

Fear is the empowered Inner Critic.

Let's take a look at the word FEAR. FEAR can be thought of as an acronym for:

FEAR: False Evidence Appearing Real
FEAR: False Emotions Appearing Real
FEAR: False Expectations About Reality
FEAR: Finding Excuses And Reasons
FEAR: Failure Expected And Received

Fear is your greatest obstacle to moving forward in your life. Every fear is like a closed door that prevents you from growing and developing.

"To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom." - Bertrand Russell

Fear travels hand-in-hand with insecurity. In many ways, they are synonymous. When you feel insecure, you become frightful and spend great portions of time, energy, and money toward establishing security, or a safe environment, for yourself.

When you feel insecure, you lack the confidence to try something new. You tend to stick to old habits and familiar ways, even if you don't like them. When you fear the new and the unknown your life becomes stale, boring and unfulfilling. You live a habitual life without growth.

When you live in a state of internal fear, your reason is nullified and your imagination runs wild, creating the worst possible scenarios, which are usually far from the actual reality, or truth. This is the work of your Inner Critic.

Your perception is distorted and you misinterpret the intentions and actions of others. Perhaps the most unfortunate result of fear is that it acts like a magnet, literally attracting to you to the very things that you fear the most. Unfortunately, what you resist, persists. You continue to subconsciously look for evidence to prove that we are right about what we fear. Your Inner Critic loves to be right!

Yes, your ego loves to be right. Therefore, if you fear you are going to lose your job you set yourself up for losing your job. If you fear no one will really love you, you enter into relationships that are unloving. More simply, if you fear thieves, you increase the possibility of encountering them by doing things to attract theft. You leave your purse or wallet unattended in the shopping cart. You forget to lock your doors. You partner in business with unethical people.

From personal experience and from the time I've spent guiding and coaching others, I know that each time people take a step toward what they fear, they get stronger. They begin to empower their Inner Wizard. Their view of what is now possible for them expands. Life becomes fuller and richer and larger. Intuition and inspiration rules the day instead of fear.

So, the next time you find yourself not doing something because you think it is not possible for you ask yourself what it really is that is stopping you. What is it that you fear? Remember the acronym for fear and be willing to do it any way. Tame your Inner Critic!

"No amount of security is worth the suffering of a life lived chained to a routine that has killed your dreams." - Kent Nerburn