If you measured your life out on a yardstick, how much is left? I’ve done it and it’s quite sobering.
Today is New Year’s Day. The first day of 2018. The first day of what remains of your life.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.” Fear is the one thing most likely to stop all of us from creating the personal and professional lives of which we dream.
We all have stories that swirl around in our heads about who we are, what limits us, and what we can and can’t accomplish. We’ve all got memories of moments of shame, incompetence, and bad decisions that formed insecurities which weigh us down and hold us back.
I have dreams of places yet to travel, experiences yet to enjoy, and work yet to be accomplished. You do too. And to finally make this the year that some of them get done, I’ll have to slay some internal dragons of fear. You will too.
But, to slay them we must see them. And, to see them we must look for them… often in some dark places. Ewww. Sorry, but, that’s it. That’s what’s called for. Because the alternative is to let fear continue to grow to unnatural proportions and cause us to believe stories about ourselves that are simply no longer true, if they ever were in the first place. Fear paralyzes us and robs us of action and movement in the direction of our dreams.
Fear does that. It gets inside us and convinces us that we can’t make good decisions or survive and learn, even if we do. But, as loud and insistent as fear is … it’s a liar. Anthony Robbins once said, “We are not defined by our past, unless we live there.” Our past does not equal our future. Our past does not predict our future, nor does what others think or say about us.
We must have the courage to bring those old voices of fear out into the light of this new day. The ones that said you’re not good enough or strong enough, not worthy or smart or right. We must look at them squarely and see them for what they are … someone else’s story or a previous version of who we are. When we do this, it’s almost guaranteed that they will shrink in the light of day and lose much of their power.
On this first Music Monday of 2018, I chose Zach William’s Fear is a Liar because these lyrics are so good and so true. Fear does rob our rest, stop us in our steps, and rob our happiness. These wise words are so perfect for what many of us must do now. Slay the internal dragons of fear and get on with the rest of what that short piece of the yardstick represents… the next and best part of our lives.
Zach Williams – Fear is a Liar
“When he told you you’re not good enough
When he told you you’re not right
When he told you you’re not strong enough
To put up a good fight
When he told you you’re not worthy
When he told you you’re not loved
When he told you you’re not beautiful
That you’ll never be enough
Fear he is a liar
He will take your breath
Stop you in your steps
Fear he is a liar
He will rob your rest
Steal your happiness
Cast your fear in the fire
‘Cause fear he is a liar
When he told you were troubled
You’ll forever be alone
When he told you you should run away
You’ll never find a home
When he told you you were dirty
And you should be ashamed
When he told you you could be the one
That grace could never change
Fear he is a liar
He will take your breath
Stop you in your steps
Fear he is a liar
He will rob your rest
Steal your happiness
Cast your fear in the fire
‘Cause fear he is a liar
Let Your fire fall and cast out all my fears
Let Your fire fall Your love is all I feel
Fear he is a liar
He will take your breath
Stop you in your steps
Fear he is a liar
He will rob your rest
Steal your happiness
Cast your fear in the fire
‘Cause fear he is a liar”
