BREAKING DOWN FEAR: PART 1

Kabbalah teaches us that we have come to this world to expand ourselves.  We have come to this place to make a difference.  Our nature, our comfort zones, all that we have, is ultimately not the realm which we should live in, we’re supposed to go to that place that’s uncomfortable in order to transform in some way.  This transformation is part of our purpose in order to leave the world differently than how we came into it.

Through applying or living the wisdom of Kabbalah we come to understand that challenges are opportunities for growth.  It is through life’s challenges, which grants us the prospect to grow, change and evolve.

There is an analogy by a great kabbalist, Rav Zusha, who lived during the 18th century.  He said that when he goes up to heaven he’s not going to be asked, “Why weren’t you like Moses?” or “Why weren’t you like Abraham?” He’s going to be asked, “Why weren’t you Zusha? Why weren’t you yourself?” Imagine being asked, “Why weren’t you YOU?”  It’s an interesting question, now what does it mean?

Very often in life (I think many of us go to this space), we look at the person next to us, we look at somebody else and their life and we say, “You know, if I had that person’s drive or their ambition, or their looks or their upbringing, then I could do X, Y and Z.”  But when we do that, we fail to recognize that we already have everything we need to be the person we’re supposed to be. We have to make the choice to step into our own shoes and fill them. It’s that simple.  Very often we make this idea out to be bigger than it is, leaving us overwhelmed and already defeated, “I can’t, it’s too hard.” It starts with making a choice. All you have to do is make a choice and then take day-to-day actions that SUPPORT that choice.

What gets in our way?  FEAR.

There is only one thing you need to know about fear – its only purpose is to hold you back.  That is it.  Fear only wants to stunt you and limit your innate potential and purpose.  We need to recognize that fear causes us damage, and it is important that we are aware of the effects fears have when we allow them to dominate our lives.  Any emotion we have, whether it’s fear, or sadness, depression or anger, whatever it is, that emotion is more drawn to the negative, and it’s as big as we allow it to be. If we allow fear or whatever negative emotion to dominate our lives, it will, and can ultimately cause damage.  But you don’t have to let that happen!  So, fear not!

There are 3 types of fears:

1. Silly or illogical fears:

These fears are not based on reality.  They are completely illogical.  I once had this illogical fear of elevators.  I had no idea why.  I thought perhaps it was a former life thing, because I started feeling anxious in elevators as early as I can remember. Whichever way I looked at it, it just made no sense.  I did say ONCE, subsequently I have worked through it (you’re welcome to cheer – it will happen for you, too… read on.) Now, more often than not silly fears stem from the negative side.  Their only intention is to come into our lives to dominate us, to get us stuck, to stop us from meeting our potential.

2. Healthy fears:

These fears keep us away from danger; we need a healthy dose of fear for cautionary measures. For example, don’t jump off of a high building, you could seriously injure yourself, or don’t put your hand over an open flame BECAUSE YOU COULD SERIOUSLY HURT YOURSELF.  You get where I am going with this, right? Right.

3. Real fears:

Finally, we have real fears, and most of our fears will probably go in this category. It’s based on reality, like the fear of death and losing the people we love.  It’s the idea that life is a terminal condition, it’s based on something that is irrefutably real.

We know how damaging negative energy can be, and we know that negativity draws on negativity.  With this in mind, I want to tell you that the negative side’s greatest weapon IS FEAR.   The more scared we are, the more life we give to it; it feeds off of this, it feeds off of seeing us stuck and not meeting our potential. BUT… we want to live happy and joyous lives, why would we ever want to live in fear?

Fear stops us from seeing opportunities that present themselves.  I don’t think that most people would equate missed opportunities to fear, but fear blinds us to the challenges that are inevitably here to allow us to grow and meet our true potential.  There is a strange perception, which a lot of us adopt, and that is that opportunities are all about luck.  Let me be very clear here, LUCK IS A STATE OF MIND. IT’S A WAY OF THINKING. But ask yourself, how many of you have said, “oh, this one is so lucky, or she’s the lucky one, I’m just unlucky.” And then you just shrug it off?   We get into this framework of thinking, because it’s easier to do that then to do the work.  It is easy to settle for a life of mediocrity, but we have the potential to be great – greatness entails a commitment to yourself, to your work and the challenges that bring you opportunity.

You have to know that you have more control over your life than you realize.

JOURNAL

1. How often is fear in your life?
2. How much control does your fear have over you?
3. Think about how your fear limits your daily accomplishments.