How are you so brave??????

How are you so brave??????
April 8, 2012 Lainie Liberti

Simple.

I’m NOT fearful.

I view the world as a safe place. Therefore, we experience the world as a safe place. We follow the common sense rules of safety but we do not tend to put ourselves in dangerous situations. But we do trust humanity, trust our place in the world is secure, and it is. I think this is the most valuable lesson for my son, as we experience humanity as our family.

So, how do you get there?

How do I gracefully break out of my comfort zone?

1.) Get comfortable being uncomfortable. That’s really the first step. Go on, it’s not all bad, just a little uncomfortable. Once you get used to it, it actually feels good, exhilarating, really.

2.) Listen to your inspiration. It’s there. Sometime your voice of inspiration is screaming loudly. Other times is a quiet feeling. But it’s always there. And regardless of the intensity right now, do know that you are naturally equipped with inspiration. Your first task in regards to inspiration, is identifying what inspires you. Then you hand over your inspiration to become action. Then you move on to your next step….. trusting your inner guidance system.

3.) Trust your inner guidance system. Born and ready to go, turned on and inside of each and every individual is this fabulous system designed to be constantly checking that you are ok. How do you know it’s working? You feel it… Does this decision feel good? (Yes? No? Regardless, that’s your inner guidance system hard at work and in action.) If the answer is yes, then do it. If the answer is no, don’t do it.

Did you hear that?

TRUST YOUR INNER GUIDANCE SYSTEM

It works. (I wrote more about the journey inwards here:  )

Here’s some tips on changing your beliefs, because sometimes that’s the only way:

Trust. Trust..


TRUST!

Trust everything will be ok.

Trust the world will support you and your family.

Trust that things will always work out.

Trust that the world is a safe place.

Trust you will find a way to support yourself and your family.

Trust things will happen in it’s own time.

Trust yourself.

But back to the fear…. how do I overcome the fear?

WHERE DO I FIND COURAGE??

Guess what?

Courage is not required.

Let’s take a look at why you think you need courage in the first place. It’s one reason: FEAR.

Fear is crippling. And from the countless emails I’ve received , it seems the number one thing between you and your dreams of traveling is FEAR. Along those lines, I have been asked more times than I can count, where did I found the courage to choose our lifestyle?

I am going to reveal my secret to you here (in case you weren’t listening….):

Again, courage is not required, all you need is inspiration.

…and the only way I had the freedom to listen to my inspiration was by not buying into the fear. In other words, I had to understand what fear was, comprehend my relationship to it, then renegotiate it’s role in my life.

Do you want fear in your life? Seriously?  If it’s in your life, you are choosing it… Let’s take a look at what it really is.

Fear

Fear cripples. Fear keeps people from their dreams. Fear is what has kept you from anything you want, including a travel lifestyle.

But fear of what?

Fear of travel?

Certainly not.

Fear of suitcases?

I’m certain this isn’t it.

Fear of foreign lands? Fear of cultures, fear of adventure?

I seriously doubt that is is..

Then what?

Let’s take this opportunity to look at fear, straight in the face:

You’re not afraid of the dark. You’re afraid of what’s in it. You’re not afraid of heights. You’re afraid of the pain of falling. You’re not afraid of people around you. You are afraid of rejection. You’re not afraid to love. You’re just afraid of not being loved back. And you’re not afraid of traveling. You are simply afraid of the unknown.

How is not knowing something to fear? It’s not. It’s just a small step out of your comfort zone. And, that’s perfectly ok. Traveling is not that scary.

Fear of the unknown.

I have heard that people are people are more afraid of uncertainty than physical pain.
Seriously?????
Return to the present moment, return to the people who are there with you on the journey right now…

Wikipedia defines fear as

Fear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger. In short, fear is the ability to recognize danger leading to an urge to confront it or flee from it (also known as the fight-or-flight response) but in extreme cases of fear (terror) a freeze or paralysis response is possible.

 How are you so brave??????

Simple.

I’m NOT fearful.

 

28 Comments

  1. WalshWitch 11 years ago

    This article TERRIFIED me. Heeeee…. not. I loved it. To be read daily. Big kiss! 

    • Author
      ilainie 11 years ago

      Kisses!!! I know you weren’t terrified! You are fearless Uncle Mike!

  2. Katka 11 years ago

    Lainie, you are my inspiration! love you!

    • Author
      ilainie 11 years ago

      Ah, thank you Katka! You too, darling, are an inspiration! So happy our paths crossed!

  3. Rebeca 11 years ago

    Lots of good thoughts here, Laine! Thanks. :> I agree that fear is ridiculous, and pointless, and crippling if we let it do that to us. 

    • Author
      ilainie 11 years ago

      Thanks Rebeca! It’s empowering once you realize it’s a choice!

  4. Stacey 11 years ago

    Love this. It’s so what I needed to hear right now-I’m thinking of moving to the middle east next year, and with the current situation my family/friends aren’t too happy, and I’m finding that their views are rubbing of onto me and giving me second thoughts.

    What a lovely, inspirational post 🙂

  5. You are absolutely right. There is nothing to be afraid of when travelling, you can see that you are stronger and fearless than you think and impossible is nothing :)! Happy travels!

    • Author
      Lainie Liberti 11 years ago

      Thank you much Agness!! I think that can be applied to any part of life as well!

  6. Lovely post! And so true … why fear??

  7. Jenni 10 years ago

    Well said! I am still working on fully releasing my fear… but I am getting there! 🙂

  8. amber 10 years ago

    What wonderful advice to be heard when i’m currently battling with the fear of the unknown…we leave in a few short months to live abroad for the first time (thanks to the wonderful families on the web who have gone ahead of us and inspired us!). I am so fearful, but so excited. Thank you for reminding me to release that fear! it has no place and will only hinder my life.

  9. janice 10 years ago

    As a teenager I was raped on my first step into the unknown – sometimes trust can be difficult to rebuild and living with the fear becomes the only other option otherwise you choose not to live at all. This is the only way that I believe I can keep stepping into the unknown and hope that the trust will deepen and the fear will leave eventually. janice

  10. Heather Wanders 9 years ago

    Just finding the site now and you bring up such a common question you get from everyone … “how are you so brave?”. People I think use this question to keep themselves insulated and assure that they could never do the things they really want to do by making it out there you need some superhuman “bravery” to simple just do what you want in life. Thanks for sharing and will be bookmarking for sure!

  11. Summer Brackhan 8 years ago

    Yes!!!!!!!! Your post made me smile and inspired me at the same time!!! Our family is getting ready to embark on our gap year adventure and I have been surprised at how many people are calling us brave and bold. To us, we just see it as the natural course for our family to be taking this adventure.

    We share many of your thoughts that the world is beautiful and that fear is a choice. (Although I have to admit that sometimes I get overwhelmed getting all the preparations ready.) I am so excited to simply leap into the unknown! 🙂

    Thanks again! I look forward to reading more on your site!

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