There’s Nothing to be Afraid of.

Fear. In its presence, we go numb and scared.

Our immediate instinct is push it away or distract ourselves. A good scroll on Instagram, playing loud music, or talking to someone.

ah. relief.

The moment you thought they were gone, these thoughts crawl in with greater force. UGH I thought I got rid of these thoughts! Why are they here again?

Let me share with you the key that broke this cycle for me:

I stopped identifying myself with these thoughts.

Our thoughts are not us. They are merely the byproduct of our past experiences and information we’ve been fed.

We are not our thoughts, in the same way we are not the work we do, the food we eat, the house we live in, or the school we go to. Imagine going around saying, “Hi, I’m a pineapple pizza with a side of soda!” or “Hey, I’m your neighborhood-friendly BMW M55!”.

(Im cringing too, don’t worry).

Similarly, why would we so easily go around being defined by these thoughts we don’t like? “Hi, I’m I might never make it to grad school!” or “Hello, I’m I have no friends. What’s your name?”

Sounds silly when put like this. But this is actually the mental state many of us are in!

The intent is not to invalidate your past experiences or fears. But ask yourself how much longer you want to be chained down by these thoughts instead of living a liberating life.

Not much longer, right?

Don’t push they away or even label these thoughts as undesirable. Just allow them to be. Remember, you are not these thoughts. You are much bigger and powerful than them. They are merely existing there. So what’s the harm in taking a good look at them dead in the face?

Notice the narratives that come up around these fears from a 3rd person perspective. Are you scared that they will happen? Are these thoughts even true?

You’ll notice there’s a distance between who you actually are and these thoughts. This should make it clear that you are not your thoughts.

The less you associate yourself with these thoughts, you won’t be interested to entertain them. You will just let them be and know they’ve got nothing on you. You will also notice how much these fears have been holding you back!

There’s a much more pleasurable and exciting life when we stop living in our heads. Make that decision now.