Inside: Don’t allow fear to hold you captive. You don’t have to believe every thought that drops into your mind. You can learn to challenge fear.
I have allowed fear to shackle me in many ways over my 45 years. But I am grateful for this stubbornness within me, a fire passed along from my mama I think, that has propelled me to slowly, sometimes painfully, forge ahead; which calls me push back against status quo, through fear, into new hopeful possibility.
It is hard to live a purposeful life unless we learn to challenge fear.
Take a minute and look back at how far you have come. You have healed and learned to love and laugh and rise above. Be proud of yourself!
I had a guest post lined up for today but I had this gut sense that some of you – even one of you – need to hear this message today. You have been bound by fear for so long and you want to be free. Maybe it will help you to know that you are not alone. Some of the following messages are fresh and others from years gone by.
challenge fear for a brave and beautiful life
Here are some of the messages fear has spoken to me along the way, in no particular order, and some of the ways I have challenged fear.
Don’t fully enjoy the encouragement you are receiving about your work because chances are, it won’t last. // I will keep writing simply because I have this voice and a need to use it; I am content to hold the outcome loosely.
You need to defend yourself when people make unkind assumptions about who you are and what you stand for. // Arguing with people is a waste of my energy and the people who need my message – they hear my heart. And I need to remember to be slow to judge others because I know how it feels.
You’re going to die too young from cancer like your parents. // I have no idea what the future holds but I do know that today is a gift. I know that people often think they have more time than they do so I choose to live each day in a way that if it is my last, I will have lived well.
You don’t know how to do that so maybe you should wait. // I’m done waiting so I’ll just step out into imperfect and keep tweaking and learning as I go. I didn’t know how to parent or be a wife, how to budget or homeschool and I figured that all out as I went along.
You’ll never stop yelling/numbing/living with anxiety (etc.) so you should just give up and enjoy the wine because trying and failing hurts so much. // Instead I keep taking baby step after baby step and celebrate the small successes along the way. I have gained freedom before and am still on the journey; I’ll get there.
He is following in your footsteps; it’s your fault. // But this discredits all the good that is in me, too, and if he is following in my footsteps then he may struggle but ultimately will be ok. He is also wise and gifted and still young and finding his way.
Don’t let yourself feel too happy because you don’t know what lies around the next bend in the road. // You have suffered a little and walked through loss but you have also tasted incredible joy. Receive the gifts in your life today and let tomorrow take care of itself.
If you say yes to that thing you want you might fail; that would be horrible. // Actually, if I say yes to that thing there is no failure. There is only stepping through the door and enjoying the experience. Whether or not other people like what I offer is not my business. Even if there are hard parts mixed in I will grow and learn and it will be part of my becoming.
Don’t say no to anything that comes your way, even if it makes you feel anxious and way too busy because what if you never get another chance like that again? // Then I will happily live my quiet life because saying yes to everything destroys my health and happiness and fear of missing out sucks the joy out of my days.
You can’t rest because then you’ll never catch up. // Somehow the essential stuff always gets taken care of. And besides, I get to choose who and how I want to be. I can let the laundry sit a while longer and go for a walk while the sun is shining. A little dust won’t kill anyone so I can read that book, cuddle with her while she is asking, climb into bed early if that is what I most need.
Don’t reach out to her because she might reject you. // We are all just people and if she rejects me or doesn’t have an interest in chatting, no worries. It’s not all about me anyways. Challenge fear and just be who you are and give others the grace and space to do the same.
You can’t marry him because he doesn’t speak English and your French isn’t great and there are some huge cultural differences between you two. Maybe he is only marrying you to stay in Canada. // Or maybe he actually loves me. And I have that knowing that he is to be my husband. And maybe none of that other stuff actually matters and we will build a beautiful life together.
Wait to have your baby until after university when it makes more sense. // I don’t have to make decisions based on what other people think makes the most sense. We are ready to be parents.
How can you waste your university education to stay home with your kids? // I am not wasting anything. This is my primary dream; I want to be here to read to him and nurse him and take him to the park. One day I may use my formal education or I may not. But this is not a mistake.
You are not going to get a good mark so take a zero – better to not show up than get a bad mark! // Why would a zero be better than a 70% or even a 50%? My whole identity is not wrapped up in my grades. Take the test or hand in the assignment and move on.
If you tell the whole truth of who you are they will reject you. // Yup, they might. But that is their choice. And I will survive and feel free because I am not pretending or putting on a brave face all the time.
You need to say yes to be kind – to be a good Christian or friend. // But sometimes saying yes means I give the worst of me to the people at home who I love most of all. Saying yes to perform led me to burnout. Saying yes to make others happy makes me feel violated. I need to establish healthy boundaries and respect them!
If you don’t do it the *right* way, the way all the experts say to do it, you will get left behind. // I opt out of the race. I choose slow, organic growth, and living authentically. If I have to hustle to have it then I don’t want it.
Maybe you don’t relate to these specific examples from my life of how fear can try to shackle us, but they help open your eyes to the way that fear has been whispering to you.
Challenge the voice of fear in your life. You do not have to accept every thought that drops into your mind (mindset matters).
And remember: though we are still on the journey we can pause to notice how far we have come. To give thanks. To acknowledge that baby steps are powerful. To speak life over ourselves – over the broken and insecure places that remain.
And then we forge ahead.
Krista xo
