You are going to love my next fear I am extending love to: “fear of success”! I kept trying to choose another one but this one just stood in the road with a sly grin on its face and said “It is my turn now”. I keep being drawn (as in being drawn then saying no, then being drawn again to seeing ALL is God and worth a look) to this rah, rah, book of Success Principles by Jack Canfield (you know, the guy who wrote the Chicken Soup for the Soul series). I always feel like sh** when I read these success type books and never get past the first chapter. But since it now seems to be my chosen fear therefore I’m practicing extending love to my fear of success the book keeps speaking to me on the deepest level.
So today (chapter 2) they asked the question (SAME QUESTION that was in today’s A Year Without Fear mind you, so I must be asking for this)
“What do you want to say to the world?”
My answer surprised me because it seemed the polar opposite to the rah, rah let’s-make-a-million-dollars purpose statements that are so popular that I thought I’d have to make. So here is what I want to say to the world:
Love Is Enough.
Who you are is Enough.
Where you are is Enough.
What you’re doing is Enough.
Who you know is Enough.
Fearlessness is your birthright.
In fearlessness ALL LIFE has to offer is Enough.
There was no way I was getting around the fear of success this time.
So, welcome to the month of extending love to the fear of success. I remember the first time someone ever told me of such a thing. Years ago, when our children were small we had a rather thriving Amway business in Australia. We worked with a great team and had truly the best mentors and teachers you could ask for. We would do really well then kind of stumble right at whatever the current finish line was. I was moaning about how my fear of failure must be what is getting in the way. My mentor said quietly, “No, it is your fear of success that is stopping you.” I was, as they say there, gobsmacked. I never really got over the incredulous feeling of betraying myself in this way. Of course, I had no idea what to do about this fear other than ignore it and move on. Turns out, ignoring a fear isn’t quite as helpful as one would hope.
I still feel nauseous when I think about “SUCCESS” because I always, automatically cut myself from the herd and feel separate. It is not that I have not experienced success in many different categories (business, family, blogging etc) it is just that when it comes down to the wire or the opportunity to play bigger, I find something else to distract myself with because, really, I am scared stupid by whatever I think I mean by “SUCCESS”. It is time to look at this part of myself, once and for all. Let’s do this together, shall we? What have we got to lose, except an opportunity to extend love to another corner of our Mind.
It’s funny that you would write about this today. Yesterday I was listening to a speaker and he said something to the effect, isn’t it amazing how we can readily bring to our mines all the things we have ever done that was wrong, but slow to remember the things that we have done that are good. I thought a lot about that throughout the day, and I realized I’m the one that keeps me down or brings me up only by how I see myself. Thank you for sharing your thoughts today.
Yes, it is funny how our memory supports tallying “all the things we ever did wrong” and has amnesia for the goodness, patience and willingness we demonstrate daily. Thanks for reading and sharing today! xo