I Have a Four Letter Word For You

F-E-A-R We all feel it. We at times are haunted by it. We can choose to allow it to stagnate us, immobilize us and disempower us. For some, fear is at the core of their regret. Fear often is spoken about by your inner critic who incessantly whispers to you thoughts that bring about a feeling of fear. We can, however, choose to allow fear to motivate us, to free us, to liberate us from feeling stuck. I remember losing a bet. A BIG bet. The bet was that the loser had to go on a carnival ride of the winner's choice. I FEARED rollercoasters. For years I feared them. I listened hard to my inner critic, that mean girl voice telling me stories that fueled my feeling of fear. There were no facts attached to my story, yet I was AFRAID, it seemed, to let go of feeling FEAR. What is FEAR? It's a four letter word that means only what we choose to make it mean. Although the feeling didn't feel pleasant, I empowered it by avoiding it. I had to ask myself, what was my attachment to feeling fear and why was I so bound and determined to keep it close to me and feel it all the time? Unfortunately, my friend who won the bet, also knew I was afraid of that darn loop-d-loop ride. I can still recall pleading and begging for her to choose a different ride. I think I even tried bribing her with a 10 dollar bill (I was young, that seemed like a lot of money!). That day, my friend gave me a gift. She gifted me the realization that my feeling was just that. Once buckled in, white knuckling it and all, I came out the other end. Just fine. I survived. I felt courageous. I felt empowered. I thought "what took me so long" to bust through my belief and prove it WRONG. OK, did I go back on that same day? NOPE But I took a huge step in knowing that FEAR was just a feeling - nothing more. Today, if there's a carnival I am going to that has a roller coaster, I'm on it! I What's your rollercoaster ride?