We
have discovered that you are not your thoughts. We have discovered
that you are not your emotions. Thoughts and emotions happen through
you as a result of you interactions with the world based on your
perception of the past.
What
you must realise is that all of the thoughts and emotions you
have
1.
Can be changed to suit you.
2.
Do not have to determine your actions, or you don't have to act
on them.
Last
time you learnt of goals and setting targets. It is important
to move forward into the direction that you wish to go. I deliberately
use the words 'move into' because that's what you do. You don't
move towards your goal as if it was a never reachable / achievable
ideal. You literally merge with it. You move forward and become
what you want.
What
stops you? Fear.
Fear
is an interesting emotion and comes from a series of thoughts.
These thoughts are expressed and form a picture of what you don't
want to happen.
The
ideal is to focus on what you do want to happen.
Whatever
you focus on you move towards.
Just
because you have a series of thoughts that create an emotion does
not mean that you can't act. The emotion is independent of the
ability to act.
Here
are some physical examples that illustrate the possibilities.
If you are about to parachute from an aeroplane you may feel fear
but you can still perform the action. A fighter may feel fear
whilst he faces his opponent but he can still perform.
You
may feel fear at the thought of public speaking. You can still
actually speak whilst in the company of this emotion.
If
you look at the pattern of thoughts that precede the emotion you
will see that your focus is on what you do not wish to happen.
There is a direct correlation between the amount of thought you
give in this direction to the power of your fear.
Of
course there are other factors that complicate this illustration.
You may have had a prior negative experience which usually increases
your fear. I know if you look closely you will find the same pattern
of thoughts that lead to the emotion of fear.
A
thought or series of thoughts have as much power over you as you
give them.
It's
not always as easy as the physical examples I have given. For
the relationship between action and emotion is quite obvious.
Here
are some common but more intangible ways fear manifests and stops
you moving ahead and into your goals.
Fear
of Responsibility.
Responsibility
means to have control or authority over something. In relation
to your life you must realise that you are responsible for your
actions. You are the agent and the cause of everything that happens
to you. You are in control.
The
fear enters when you think in terms of good and bad, instead of
cause and effect. Thinking in terms of good and bad is the way
you are conditioned. You must realise that no person is in a position
to judge you. If you take an action it has a consequence. If you
make a mistake this does not mean you are bad. It means that you
have made a mistake. If you want a different result then I would
do something different next time. With
the help of mistakes you learn, those of you who can walk, actually
learnt this through a series of mistakes.
Fear of Accountability.
To
be accountable means that you are answerable to someone or something.
We are answerable to ourselves. I don't mean to the self that
manifests itself as your ego. I mean to yourself that is the true
being hidden behind the ego. This is the part of you that wants
you to be the best you can be, it wills you to strive for excellence.
To be accountable to your true self is difficult because your
ego is tasked with the job of keeping this true self from you
so that you are protected from certain things such as emotional
pain.
The
fear comes from the fact that to be accountable to yourself you
often have to venture a path that is apart from the crowd. This
requires your individual idea's and desires to manifest. You may
have been punished or ridiculed for either your mistakes or your
idea's by others. This leads to conditioning that chains you to
someone else's pattern of thought.
Fear of Success.
Fear
of success is prevalent and is often linked to self esteem and
responsibility.
You may not think you are worthy of success. You may believe that
you are worth less than someone else and therefore are not deserving
of success. Realise that you are equal as a human being with the
rest of humanity and that no one person is any better or worse
than you. You have your
own set of challenges to work through.
You
are just as deserving of success as anyone else. What judgment
have you made that limit your own self esteem. Are you happy with
yourself can you look yourself in the eye via a mirror and love
yourself.
When
success comes we move from an old pattern that has held us back,
to a new pattern. This can create emotional turbulence in the
lives of those around us. It is important that you understand
that you don't have to hold yourself back to protect the self
esteem of others. Marianne
Williamson expresses this perfectly when she says that this a
fear of your own greatness. You can read a passage from her here.(Our
greatest fear)
Many
of these expressions of fear are closely intertwined and indistinguishable
from one another. It is important that you concentrate on what
you want, not what you don't want. Realise that thoughts create
their power over you through your emotions.
Your
power comes through awareness of the process and observation of
the hold that is over you. Awareness brings what is hidden into
the light. The light shows you that you can be in control.
