Fear can hold you back; keep you from so much. It can prevent you from achieving greatness. Fear can stunt your growth, stall you. It can make you regress, retreat, and it can make you tuck tail and run. Fear causes you to hesitate before accepting help. But, most damaging, it stops you from seeing the little things. It makes you cease to believe in every day magic. And, the only reason any of this happens is because we allow it to.

People are afraid of their own potential. This fear stops them from seeing any good in the qualities they have. Being unable to recognize these also prevents one from enhancing them through experience and growth.

It is okay to acknowledge your own greatness, to explore it. You should not fear yourself or your abilities. A fear like this can stop you from utilizing those you have and from finding any new ones. It can be crippling. Not only can fear stop you from climbing the mountain, it can steal away your own belief that you ever could. Fear creates doubt.

We second-guess ourselves all the time, over the silliest things –vanity often appears to be at the wheel- and yet, we are so casual with our emotions. We rarely second-guess lust. But, we will let our fears warp us, causing us to question our firmest convictions and doubt ourselves. So much of our unexplainable behaviours are the by-product of fear. It makes you regress to a point that you are now easier to control.

And, it can scare you; hunt you down when you think you cannot be found. Intrude on your most private, precious moments. Fear can lock you up and throw away the key; it will keep you in your place. The very presence of it is enough to make you want to stay.

Or is it that we give it that power?

Fear makes us leery of helping others, ourselves. It is odd to me that something as intangible as fear has so much power over us. Power enough for it to have governance over us and affects our physical being. And, yet, I have experienced that kind of fear. I have headed towards the door with such confidence and surety, only to feel it rush from my body, leaving me lifeless, confused and feeling incredibly betrayed.

We have all paused before jumping. Why? Unfortunately, the answer is unique to each of us. I know what worked for me and the only promise I can make is that it will not work for you. Mind you, there are common threads that allow us to empathize with one another. But, at the same time, each soul is unparalleled and entangled in its own unique web of circumstances. That is not to say we shouldn’t ask each other for help. People do not put enough stock in their differences. That’s where we have the most to gain and learn from each other; it’s wonderful to have similarities, but it does not provide as lush a landscape as difference.

Fear has funny ways of manifesting. It can sneak up and surprise you. It can be so sudden it’s off-putting.

Fear makes us leery of others. It can make us turn on ourselves. It makes us want to run away, yet too afraid to do so. It will skew your perspective and isolate you, holding you captive under a net of misinformation. The very thought of it can freeze you in your tracks, on your way to get help. And, if help comes to you, fear can suddenly appear, making you apprehensive as you reach for the handle on the door. Fear will stop help from finding you.

Perhaps, the most unforgivable thing in fear’s repertoire is its shameless thieving. It blatantly robs us of our ability to see the beauty and wonder in the simplest of moments. It mangles our view of the world, replacing light with dark, and taking the shine from everything it touches. Fear fills your eyes and can corrupt your soul; it warps your mind and toys with your emotions. It greedily robs you of the ability to relish in the every day, in the magic that surrounds you. Fear will make you believe it never existed.

And, the only reason any of this happens is because we allow it. Like addicts we need our fix, and we know just how and where to get it. For some it can be an insatiable hunger, others endure a more casual abuse. When we realize we have two feet, and can stand steady on them, we are one step closer to shaking it.

Fear can be debilitating. It will break you down and shame you, if and for as long as you let it. A check and balance is a good thing to have in place with your own self, but have a bit more faith in YOU too. Always move forward. Your constant progression is enough to keep fear at bay. Understanding it will make it go away.