Fear…it’s the thing that wakes you up in the middle of the night, it’s the thing that keeps you from being yourself, it’s the thing that stops you from pursuing your dreams, it’s the thing that keeps you stuck in repetitive patterns and living the same day over and over…why?

Fear has many names. It disguises itself well, but when you feel insecurity, a need to appear perfect, act arrogantly, or get angry…you are feeling fear.

Fear definitely has it’s place in our lives and can protect us from danger, but when it stops your life from. moving forward (which we are all supposed to do), you know you have a problem.

Most of my life was spent in fear. I never felt worthy of good things when I was younger. I desperately wanted someone to just love me, but I didn’t know I could love myself, or should love myself. This feeling of unworthiness caused me to make horrible decisions and kept me so small. I attracted people into my life who were just like me and together, we really were going nowhere.

Everyone on this earth was put here for a reason. No one is random or unimportant. We as individuals can change the world when we realize and step into our personal power and connect with Source, God, Universe…whatever you like to call it. It’s like plugging in the toaster.

That might sound like an oversimplification, but it is our responsibility as humans who have opportunity at our fingertips to grab that opportunity, evolve and work to change the world.

Here are 21 Things I’ve Learned on my Journey…

1. Fear is what kept me stuck and miserable for most of my life.

2. No one will ever treat me any worse than I’ve treated myself and that’s what makes self love so important (read that again).

3. The more I love myself, the greater my capacity to love others.

4. Forgiveness is freedom.

5. No one can ever change my life except for me.

6. Living in the past is a path to more of what happened in the past.

7. Every second of every day is an opportunity to begin again.

8. Failure only means that I’m brave enough to try.

9. I am okay and I will be okay, no matter what.

10. Life can and does get better when I continue to do the work to let go of limiting beliefs and replace them with empowering thoughts, until they become empowering beliefs.

11. Becoming aware of my thoughts is the first step to changing them.

12. I can be, do and have anything I can dream.

13. Life is supposed to be good and I was born to shine.

14. My story is my gift and I have a responsibility to use it to inspire others.

15. Life is a constant journey of growth and evolution…we never arrive at the place we’re supposed to be.

16. We all deserve to take up space in this world.

17. My passions and desires are inside of me because they are meant for me.

18. If I worry about what other people think, I’ll never get anywhere in this life.

19. The Universe will never give me more than I believe I’m worthy of having.

20. Guidance is always available.

21. It’s the little moments that make up my days that make up my life. I want to look back and be amazed at the wonderful life I’ve lived.

22. The choices I make today create the life I live tomorrow.

23. It only takes a spark…one ah-ha moment to begin to walk down a life changing path!

Who will you become if you face your fear and change your life, or even just change one thought or reaction today and another tomorrow?

The thing about fear is that when you can feel the fear and do what you need to do anyway, what’s on the other side is the pot of gold and the Journey is the yellow brick road. If you allow your fear to win, it will lead you to the same place over and over again and I promise, it’s not where you want to be.

Each time I write a post and tell more of my story, I have feelings of fear…what will people think of me, will people think I’m oversharing, will people not like what I’ve written…but I still write the post and put it out there because in my heart, I know it’s what I’m supposed to be doing. As I said yesterday, I am evidence that you can change your life but if I don’t share my story, I will never inspire you to start your Journey.

“Every time you interact with someone, you are creating a cascading, ripple effect through humanity. You cannot imagine how deeply this web of connectivity is woven, how much a single act of kindness can affect the world at large, how powerfully one soul showing another true love can impact the way that person interacts with every other person they come across – forever. ~ Brianna Wiest

I wish for all of us that at the end of our lives, we can smile and say it was the best life ever. I wish for all of us to be remembered for being brave and strong and happy and a force of love in the world! Again…thank you for reading!