If there is one thing that can give us freedom from fear, what do you think that one thing is?
I pondered on that question for a quite a long while now. In subways. In offices. In restrooms. In supermarkets. In bookstores. In restaurants. In musuems. In parks. In my bedroom. Nothing struck me. Then it occurred to me today, out of the blue. And this is the thing:
By learning to love and own your imperfections, you will have no fear
So here is the deal. Will jumping off a cliff (its called bungee jumping in the modern ages;)), skydiving or adventure sports of any kind give you this freedom. Maybe a bit. You will now have done something that you "thought" you could never do. But the ultimate escape from fear is learning to love yourself. As cliched as it sounds, it is the THE most important change that we can make in life. Yet in even acknowledging your imperfections there is fear! Funny how that works no?
So why are we doing this to ourselves? Hurting ourselves and worrying sick with lumps in our throats and knots in our stomach over things that don't really matter? I am not saying i you fear snakes, go dive into a snake pit without thought. All I am saying is this fear, this resistance is stopping you from being awesome.
Take this for example. I am in a room with a large audience with reputable people and world renowned author at the podium on the stage. Once she finished speaking, she opens the floor for questions. I have a question to ask. What is the first thing that comes to my mind?
- Did I phrase my question appropriately?
- Would she be offended by what I ask?
- Will I be able to ask her in a presentable voice and demeanor?
- What will other people in the audience think of me? *Cringe*
And the moment has passed. Someone else has asked a question and we are out of time.
OK, maybe my example is not that great. But you get the point. Overthinking led to resistance which led to fear. Now i will never be able to ask that question to her face-to-face. So was shutting down and going blank worth it? NO! Yet, we do this every single day for the simplest of things.
Now, sit down and write answers to these questions:
Is the insecurity you’re defending worth the dream you’ll never realize? or the love you’ll never venture? or the joy you’ll never feel?
This post is part of the #Trust30 Project. #Trust30 is an online initiative and 30-day writing challenge from TheDominoProject that encourages you to look within and trust yourself. Learn more at RalphWaldoEmerson.me
I pondered on that question for a quite a long while now. In subways. In offices. In restrooms. In supermarkets. In bookstores. In restaurants. In musuems. In parks. In my bedroom. Nothing struck me. Then it occurred to me today, out of the blue. And this is the thing:
By learning to love and own your imperfections, you will have no fear
So here is the deal. Will jumping off a cliff (its called bungee jumping in the modern ages;)), skydiving or adventure sports of any kind give you this freedom. Maybe a bit. You will now have done something that you "thought" you could never do. But the ultimate escape from fear is learning to love yourself. As cliched as it sounds, it is the THE most important change that we can make in life. Yet in even acknowledging your imperfections there is fear! Funny how that works no?
So why are we doing this to ourselves? Hurting ourselves and worrying sick with lumps in our throats and knots in our stomach over things that don't really matter? I am not saying i you fear snakes, go dive into a snake pit without thought. All I am saying is this fear, this resistance is stopping you from being awesome.
Take this for example. I am in a room with a large audience with reputable people and world renowned author at the podium on the stage. Once she finished speaking, she opens the floor for questions. I have a question to ask. What is the first thing that comes to my mind?
- Did I phrase my question appropriately?
- Would she be offended by what I ask?
- Will I be able to ask her in a presentable voice and demeanor?
- What will other people in the audience think of me? *Cringe*
And the moment has passed. Someone else has asked a question and we are out of time.
OK, maybe my example is not that great. But you get the point. Overthinking led to resistance which led to fear. Now i will never be able to ask that question to her face-to-face. So was shutting down and going blank worth it? NO! Yet, we do this every single day for the simplest of things.
Now, sit down and write answers to these questions:
Is the insecurity you’re defending worth the dream you’ll never realize? or the love you’ll never venture? or the joy you’ll never feel?
No, not even close to worth. In fact this will turn into deep regret that I haven't even given it a shot for the fear of failing badly in it. Learning from failures and mistakes is what makes humans invincible.
Will the blunder matter in 10 years? Or 10 weeks? Or 10 days? Or 10 minutes?
Maybe 10 mins. Human memory is short. We forget our blunders as soon as the next one happens.
Maybe 10 mins. Human memory is short. We forget our blunders as soon as the next one happens.
Can you be happy being anything less than who you really are?
I can never be happy doing something that is not me, not what I stand for. Funny how humans are motivated - it is not money but our passions that drive happiness in us.
----------------------I can never be happy doing something that is not me, not what I stand for. Funny how humans are motivated - it is not money but our passions that drive happiness in us.
This post is part of the #Trust30 Project. #Trust30 is an online initiative and 30-day writing challenge from TheDominoProject that encourages you to look within and trust yourself. Learn more at RalphWaldoEmerson.me
These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world. Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members – Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Is fear holding you back from living your fullest life and being truly self expressed? Put yourself in the shoes of the you who’s already lived your dream and write out the answers to the following:
Is the insecurity you’re defending worth the dream you’ll never realize? or the love you’ll never venture? or the joy you’ll never feel?
Will the blunder matter in 10 years? Or 10 weeks? Or 10 days? Or 10 minutes?
Can you be happy being anything less than who you really are?
Now Do. The Thing. You Fear.
(Author: Lachlan Cotter)
2 comments:
The posts just seem to flow... Great going.. :)
Wish i could catch a bit of that..
Ramana, just click on "publish", when you have a significant post. The point is all abt writing and publishing it, u can scrub it later=)
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