Some professional and professional development coaches will convince you that fear is a bad thing. That you must be fearless in order to have growth. I’m here to share a different angle with you.
What if fear did not have to stop you or even slow you down? What if fear could be seen as just a natural part of the journey? What if growth and fear could co-exist?
The way I see it is that fear is an indicator that we are on the edge of something magical. It means I’m not settling for my comfortable life and what’s “good enough”, but I am reaching for an extraordinary possibility.
Alan Watts, a philosopher, said:
“By replacing fear of the unknown with curiosity we open ourselves up to an infinite stream of possibility. We can let fear rule our lives or we can become childlike with curiosity, pushing our boundaries, leaping out of our comfort zones, and accepting what life puts before us.”
Imagine leaping out of your comfort zones with childlike curiosity! Jump, fall down, skin your knees, bounce back, and do it all over again. When you watch children play, the excitement, joy, imagination, creativity, and possibility is palpable! As children learn and grow, often fear is present.
It’s essential to our success to see fear as just a signal, and then choose to leap with excitement anyway and tackle the growing pains as they come.
It can be completely natural to have fear and excitement at the same moment when leaping into the unknown. It just takes a willingness to see both.
Side Note Confession: I believe that being fearless is bullshit. And I don’t really understand the current culture and obsession with this word. I personally don’t care to be fearless. Our job is not to eliminate or ignore our fears, it’s to use them as a guide and give more power to the excitement and the possibility of what’s next. And then choose to JUMP.
Fear is often a mental conversation. It’s all the internal voices that tell us we can’t do it, we’re not good enough, we don’t deserve this, and it will never work. Fear is made to keep us safe and sound inside our comfort zone. Consequentially, it can keep us from growth, magic, and possibility.
Luckily we can tune into our heart as we are looking at what’s next for us. “Onward to good things!” You can allow your passions, your purpose, and what inspires you to create your own magic and possibility. And you don’t have to get rid of the fear. You can use both! Just like the Awkward Yeti depicts in his comics.
It’s easy to get caught in your head and follow what you believe you “should” do. This can also show up as letting social pressures and the voices around you influence what you “should” choose. Well, I truly believe it’s time you stop should-ing all over yourselves. All it does it make a mess. 
Tuning into what excites you, what motivates you, what inspires you—THAT is listening to your heart. THAT is following what you MUST do.
When you follow what you must do, you can become unstoppable. Fear doesn’t run your life. Fear is just an indicator that you must grow!
What is one action you’ve wanted to take, but let fear get in the way? Will you do it now? How will you choose to grow?