No Fear

"Failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy to finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one area where I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realized, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter, and a big idea. And so rock bottom became a solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life."

 

-J. K. Rowling (Harvard Commencement Speech)

 

Fear can do a number on us. It can keep us from so much that life has to offer. By imagining and fearing the worst, we keep ourselves trapped in a small life. Everyone has some level of fear, the question is whether we let it stop us. I love the adage 'feel the fear and do it anyway', you are bigger than your fears.

Rowling, before authoring of the infamous Harry Potters series, hit rock bottom after divorce, becoming a single mother with no job and a baby to care for, she lived in extreme poverty. When we are stripped to our essence, we quickly learn what we are made of. When the worst has happened to us, we can choose to no longer be afraid of it. Rowling, at her bottom, chose to dig deep into her determination to be none other than herself, a writer.

There is something about the freedom that comes from facing our fears. I believe we don't have to wait for failure to happen to learn from it. We can live from the premise that we are okay no matter what. This is a nothing-to-lose mentality that can propel us higher, beyond what we think is possible. When we're willing to face the deep depths, we're able to face the greatest heights- they're more closely linked than you can imagine, fear of one leads to fear of the other.

I had a lot of fear during my divorce, I was pregnant with our fourth child and unsure if my soon to be ex-husband would be around for financial support. I lacked a career, family nearby, or any idea how I would get through emotionally. I remember being asked about the worst that could happen, my biggest fear at that point was was homelessness. I then understood my fear was a distant possibility, just by naming it I was able to move forward with my life. Even if my fear was realized, I would be alive, I would have my four beautiful children, and I would find a way out.

I encourage you to name your fears both large and small, identifying the darkness sheds light. Write them down, then give yourself a reality check, even if they did happen, what would you do? When you've written them down, burn the paper, shred it, destroy it in a satisfactory way. Say out loud, "I am letting go of my fear of ...."

When I lose my fear, I am free- to be myself, to live with passion, to pursue what I want in this lifetime, to be the type of person I am proud to be. I can live from the light within me- unique, unobstructed and brilliant as ever. You can too, in fact you were meant to. Face what's holding you back, take away its power, believe that amazing and good things will happen, they are unfolding in their own time, at a divinely inspired pace. Fear is but an emotion, it's time we put it in its place.