Is fear holding you back from achieving your dreams?

Is fear holding you back from achieving your dreams?

“There are people who put their dreams in a little box and say … “Yes, I’ve got dreams.” Then they put the box away and bring it out once in a while to look in it, and yep, they’re still there.” ~ Erma Bombeck

Fear does NOT want you to read this … certainly not to the end!

Pull up a chair because I’m about to reveal it’s best kept secret, and next time fear shows itself and threatens to de-rail your dreams, you will be prepared for it’s savvy powers of persuasion.

Fear is too often victorious.

It “wins” because many would sooner share their worst fear with the mailman before they share what they dream of with a member of their family. Dreams are often thought to be private, often under lock and key, and showing up at the starting line can feel risky. Most people opt to keep them a secret.

Fear encourages this. Often, all it takes is a few words and you cry uncle.

“Be realistic.”
“That’s impossible.”
“You’ll never succeed.”
“Be reasonable … I mean, really.”
“Who do you think you ARE?”
“Don’t set your sights too high.”

“Why rock the boat?”
“Imagine what so-and-so will say…”
“Things are good enough.”
“What? You don’t have enough (fill in the blank) for that.”
The list goes on…

Any one of these can have you throwing in the towel and surrendering to your repetitive reality of the familiar, and putting those dreams back into their box like that nice pair of shoes that seemed like a good idea at the time but that you never wear.

Not okay. It hurts your life. It hurts your legacy. It hurts your happiness. And it stunts your potential.

There’s a better way.

There is a wiser, braver, bolder part of YOU that believes it’s possible and every once in a while you get a glimpse of this higher truth.  Until, fear kicks into overdrive … and your dreams get put up on that hard to reach shelf to collect more dust.

Fear is masterful at scaring you right back into your “safe zone” of “good enough”, or worse, “comfortable misery.”

If the first few statements don’t do the trick in getting you to resign yourself to “reality”, fear has a Plan B. Waiting in the wings, it’ll serve up an abundance of so-called “evidence”:

  • A history lesson about times you didn’t succeed or felt embarrassed.
  • Probabilities as if they predict your certain future.
  • Piercing reminders about the expectations of others, all the “shoulds”, rules, and social norms.
  • It’ll dredge up that story about that time when you did that thing (you know the thing)… and why you should play it “safe”, anything to avoid something like that happening again!

Oh yes, fear can have you paralyzed in no time, tricking you into thinking it’s on your side as has your best interest at heart.

Yet, just ‘cuz it’s persuasive and persistent, doesn’t mean it’s True!

Rather than run for a broom to sweep it back under the rug, what’s SO critical to understand is that your dream becomes possible the moment you decide it is. (Yes, you really ARE that powerful.)

If you’ve mistakenly filed your dreams under “impossible”, don’t worry, you can re-file them.

And while it may feel like you’ll need to make HUGE changes and taking BIG scary leaps, know that taking the right small steps are the key.)

Here’s what fear WON’T tell you:

More than anything, it wants to KEEP you from seeing the cost of NOT going for it.

It doesn’t want you to know what you’re missing.  It doesn’t want you to know the price you’re paying for not prioritizing your dreams. It doesn’t want you to know the impact of putting off its fulfillment and delaying your heart’s deepest desires.

Consider: What is the cost – and the RISK – of always wondering? What is the cost, and the risk, of waiting another 6 months? Year? Another 5 years? 10 years?

If you wait another 6 months, that means another 6 months living a life that doesn’t fit you. It means feeling stuck in the routines. It means feeling frustrated and disgruntled every single day. It means feeling disconnected from the truth of who you are meant to be. Feeling that you could have done so much more.  That feeling that you could have lived more! Feeling that discontent everyday for the next x number of months or years.

Can you afford THAT?!?

Fear fears THIS question most of all, because it knows the answer is NO.

If you’re ready and you do not want to pay that price … here are two simple ways to get started today:

Yay.  You’re on your way.  Fear’s got nothing on you.

Big love,

Tara Sage     

Helping people live their dreams since 2004.