Leading with my fear

I've been observing people most of my life and trying to figure out what motivates them to act. It has recently occurred to me that many of us are motivated by our fears. It never fails that when you ask someone about their greatest fear, they will revert to the mind of their second-grade self and say, "Spiders." Really? Spiders? Hmm... As adults, those physical fears of spiders, snakes, water, etc. are still the first thing that comes to mind when we enter this realm. Certainly, there are folks out there that are completely debilitated by such fears. I don't mean to discount that reality, but I'm positive those eight-legged monster are NOT what is keep most of us from our goals.

Fear is a physically and emotional phenomenon that holds us back. It is the roadblock that stops us from doing the very tasks we need to do to evolve as human beings. In exploring my own fears I can see a pattern of what has motivated me to make specific choices in my life. That sinking feeling I have had in my gut was trying to tell me something. Until I began living with intent, I would simply avoid things that made me feel bad-like looking at my checking account, setting doctor appointments, clean out the car, organizing my desk, and even my family on occassion. I thought avoidance was a brilliant idea! Then, I started looking around my life from the point of view of an observer. Yikes! I was leading with my fear and my success was buried somewhere beneath it all!

My fears are still hanging around inside my head, but I know them well. When the fear of being broke starts whispering in my ear, I use it as motivation to pay closer attention to my money-not just ignore it. When the fear of feeling out of control blows in with gale force winds, I anchor to the idea that I am the captain of my own ship. When the fear of being a failure taunts me like a bully, I laugh to myself and say "Watch this!" I am able to push through the worst times by giving myself the opportunity to feel the fear inside and then resolve it. I use that sinking feeling as an internal barometer. It is my physical indicator that action is needed, or that resolve is in order.