Are you fearless or courageous? Does the difference matter?
Ok, this one goes out to those people who are a little further along in their journey of consciously making their dreams a reality.
If you’re not fully down with the idea that our thoughts, our words and our actions help shape our reality, you can probably sit this one out.
For those people who are getting activated at that level though, there’s something I want to say about fear.
I think most people will know that fear acts like a cancer on our dreams. Fear is an incredibly powerful emotion, and if left unchecked, it can totally de-rail our efforts to call in the life that is there waiting for us.
Sometimes the fear is there hiding in broad daylight. It is the fear that we’ll never have enough, the fear that we’re not good enough, the fear that nothing we do ever turns out right.
Carry these ideas into any endeavour and you’ll struggle to make it come off.
But sometimes the fear is sneaky, and hides from us.
Take the goal, “I want to build a net worth of $5m in five years.” Sounds like a positive powerful goal right?
But is it?
Is it, “I want to build a net worth of $5m in five years because then I could do some kick-arse awesome things”..?
Or is it, “I want to build a net worth of $5m in five years, because I’m afraid of being poor and lonely and having to eat bugs to survive.”
One comes from a place of abundance and joy, and it’s powerful because abundance and joy attracts abundance and joy.
But the other comes from a space of fear and lack, and it’s powerful in that it will attract fear and lack.
So we need to watch out. We need to examine the goals and things we are calling into our life. We need to weed out fear wherever we find it until we are left with nothing but the pure Grandma-Gertrude rose-garden of dreams-made-reality.
And this becomes all the more true the more we develop a clarity around what we want, and empower the processes that call in what we want.
The better you get at asking, the more carefully you need to watch what you’re asking for.
With great power comes great responsibility.
Ok, I’m going to assume you’re with me on this so far, and you understand that we don’t want to be acting from a place of fear.
And so here’s the thing I want to say. There is a difference between having courage and being fearless, and that difference is important.
If the goal is to act clearly from a space that is clear of fear, then both courage and fearlessness can get you there.
But they are different processes and shape us in different ways.
I would say that most people at this level choose the path of fearlessness. They refuse to allow any space for fear. They refuse to give it any mental energy.
This in itself is a heroic act. And it works. You keep yourself in a positive, sunny and empowered space, and you can achieve great things from there.
However, courage is different.
The way I see it, courage is the acceptance – actually, more the ‘integration’ of fear. Fears are not resisted, but seen and accepted, even loved.
You don’t let yourself move from a space of fear, but you’re not fighting fear either. Fears are not resisted, but rather, transcended.
And in this space, I would say, you are more fully alive. You are alive to the fragility and preciousness of human life, to the fragility and preciousness of your own life.
With that awareness, the sweet moments of love and joy and putting your sleeping kids to bed at night can be seen for the miracles that they are.
So this is what I want to say. Fears are not to be resisted, but integrated and transcended. It might be a subtle difference, but it is important.
And while the fearless and courageous spaces both allow you to achieve great things, my feeling is that with courage, with a fullness of heart, we are less ‘resisty’ and more in alignment with the flow of things.
My intuition is that ultimately it is a more powerful space to be acting from.
Anyway, I guess I wanted to put this out there right now. Fear might be used as a weapon at times, but I for one, am not going to let it throw me from my game.
I know there are things to be scared of. I’m ok with that. And my mind’s eye stays focused on goals that are good and beautiful and love.
What are you doing to conquer fear and stick to your plans?