Our deepest fear

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others” Marianne Williamson

How many times have we heard this quote or parts of it? Nodded our heads and agreed and yet we continue to avoid change until the pain of remaining the same is greater than the fear of changing and even then, we tend not to allow ourselves to shine.

As caregivers, those fears are all the stronger since there is someone who is constantly relying upon us. Imagine how we, and our loved one, would be if we would follow these few tips:

1. Have a dance with fear; get to know fear and make it your friend. Understand when it happens to you. Spend some time thinking about why it happens when it happens, maybe it’s due to lack of information, lack of practice. When you can figure out why, it’s so much easier to deal with the real issue and to move past the fear going forward.

2. Get in the habit of replacing thoughts of fear that enter with exciting fun thoughts. Think of fear as an annoyance.Replace that feeling with something positive – a memory, the moment, a dream. Don’t forget fear cannot be erased completely, only managed and acknowledged.

3. Stop thinking about what your friends and family think about your decisions, your actions. Thoughts about what others feel can truly increase fear. We need to erase thoughts of what others think, somehow, someway.It’s hard, it’s scary. But get used to being uncomfortable or at least focus on doing your own thing.

4. Fear creeps in when you are about to do something new or something awesome. Fear always comes when we are being brave. Use it as a motivator to do it anyway. Find the inner fear rebel inside you and jump, skip and dream.

5. Replace the fear with confidence. Remember – you are incredible. What you are doing is amazing!

What do you think? What can be possible for you and your loved one if you would be liberated from one of your fears?