OMG – I walked on fire!
I literally walked across hot coals that were over 650 degrees Celsius and I was terrified.
So many of us live a life that is ruled by fear.
Fear of what people will say, fear of rejection, fear of not being loved, fear of failing, fear of being ridiculed, fear of making decisions, fear of success, fear of being hurt, fear of things that go bump in the night.
I know that there are many of you reading this right now that can totally relate.
Many years ago I learned an acronym for fear.
F – Fantasied
E – Events
A- Appearing
R – Real
What does this mean??
Anxiety/Fear is when we imagine a fearful event occurring in the future.
As a parent I have done this many times with my kids, imagining events happening to them while they were out, and OMG, let’s not even get started with what my mind created when they first started driving.
It hasn’t happened, it’s not real, yet we are creating this scenario in our minds and as the unconscious mind does not know the difference between what is real or imagined, your nervous system responds as though it is indeed happening and happening right now.
And if we are all honest the majority of what we imagined, the stress and anxiety that we have placed on our bodies, was for nothing because the worst that we imagined never came to be.
In my excitement, I did try and share this with some people, and I have to say that they were not overly impressed with my simplification of their fear.
I get it though, my life has been one ball of fear after another and it led to extreme anxiety and stress.
If fear has been your go to for most of your life, if it has appeared to you as your great protector, then of course the fear of letting your fear go would be very real because then who are you without your fear. What reasons would you then have for not living life to the fullest.
Fear can feel like the warm cozy coat that you pop on in the middle of winter, it wraps around you, it keeps you warm and it keeps you safe from the outside world.
Fear also keeps you limited, it keeps you in a dead end job that is sucking the life out of your soul, it keeps you in toxic or abusive relationships, it keeps you single, it keeps you isolated, you keeps you in one place.
Fear sees your potential for growth and creativity and convinces you that this isn’t for you because of XY&Z.
Fear holds your heart trapped within self imposed iron gates so that it can never feel pain.
Fear watches your dreams and hopes sail off into the sunset locked up in a solid gold treasure chest.
Fear tells you that you aren’t worthy of a loving relationship.
Fear convinces you that security long term in a job that does not make you happy is safe.
Fear shows you all of the reasons why it’s not safe to trade outside of this country.
Fear gives you all of the outs that you could ever need, all of the reasons why you can’t.
Fear my friend is not your friend.
Fear is your jailor.
My motto for the last 6 years has been to feel the fear and do it anyway.
Which is to say that I only really decided to fully live this miraculous gift of life that I have been given 6 years ago.
The moment that I fully recognised that there was more to life than just existing was the moment my life began to change forever.
When you desire change and it becomes more than just a wish a hope or a dream and becomes a must, want and a need, then those chains of fear begin to loosen their grip.
Each time that you choose to face your fear and take action being prepared to accept whatever the outcome may be is a step closer to fulfilment that you become.
As you take each step the fear that prevented you in the first place recedes in the face of your determination and courage.
You see your fear is like a hungry bear, the more that you feed it, the more of your fear it begins to crave and the larger that it becomes.
Each time that I have faced a fear I had the belief and the fear that I would not be able to do what I was asking of myself. I was afraid that I would fall flat on my face or make a fool of myself.
Each time that I have successfully completed a goal that I have set for myself it has felt amazing, euphoric and freeing, and the thought has always been, OMG what was I worrying about.
None of the horrendous outcomes that I had dreaded have ever occurred.
So, this leads me to my most recent leap of faith and facing my fears.
While at a Tony Robbins event we had the chance to overcome our fears and do the walk of fire.
Now I will not lie to you, I had already started to prepare myself by telling people that I may or may not actually do it and I was going to wait and see how I felt in the moment and then decide.
My fear was really starting to creep in, so I began visualising in earnest myself successful completing, in this I kept seeing myself jumping up and down in celebration and excitement at the other end.
Then came the time to leave the building and head outside to where all of the fire pits had been set up, still not knowing what I was going to do I took off my shoes and socks, rolled up my jeans and followed the crowd chanting all the way to the sounds of drums.
As we were lining up, I happened to see one of the attendants stoking the red hot coals and flames coming out from beneath – now that just added fuel to the fear that was bubbling away inside of me.
Closer and closer I came to my turn to go, all the time calling in all of my team of Spirit and Angels to surround me, then I had a visual of all of the gorgeous people that I work with, my friends and family and in that moment I felt the awfulness of how I would feel if I didn’t do this.
This honestly felt terrible to me, in that moment I saw how disappointed and upset I would be at myself if I let fear control me.
I knew that the rest of my time at the event would be filled with regret if I chose not to go ahead with the walk.
The fire you see is the metaphor of overcoming fear in our lives.
It represented really, if you look at it, fear at its highest form.
So, as it came time for me to go, I thought what the hell, the worst that can happen is I might have a couple of blisters on the bottom of my feet, so be it, I’ll survive.
I took a deep breath, my heart beating 10000 miles an hour, feeling absolutely terrified and took my first step, I took the leap of faith, chanted my mantra and made it safely to the other side feet fully intact and whole.
There are no words to fully describe the elation and euphoria that this moment in time filled me with.
I have never felt so empowered and liberated as I did in that moment.
What that one action installed in me, what it reinforced within my entire Being is that there is nothing that I cannot do when I put my mind, focus and intention to it.
This will serve as a reminder moving forward in my life that no matter how real the terror, no matter how big the bear, no matter how outside of my comfort zone I may feel, I have the power within me to rise above it and shine.
So, for you who may see fear as the iron gates or the brick walls that you have no way of going over or getting around I say to you, grab a shovel and start digging your way underneath.
Fear is the greatest illusion wrapped up in limiting beliefs and self doubt.
You are greater than your fears and you have the right to live this life as fully as you choose.
As you face your fear it no longer has power over you.
As you face your fear and succeed you free yourself from the chains that have bound you.
As you face your fear and open your heart and your mind to the abundance of opportunity that life has on offer for you.
Big Love
Kerryn
