In last week’s blog, I wrote about the crossroads of indecision. A part of being caught in indecision has a lot to do with fear. Fear of making the wrong decision. Fear of hurting others. Fear of not being who we are meant to be.

With all of this talk of fear, I am reminded of a very powerful quote from Marianne Williamson.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us, we ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous, actually, who are you not to be, you are a child of God, you’re playing small does not serve the world, there is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. We were born to manifest and make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not in just some of us. It’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear. Our presence automatically liberates others.”

We are meant to shine, and in doing so we help others shine as well. But fear can sometimes get in the way. The fear we feel is an old story that we can change. When we are the cusp of feeling fear that prevents us from shining bright. That is called the terror barrier. It’s the feeling we get when we are about to do something great, but fear is standing in our way. You have the power to break through the terror barrier. Once you understand what’s happening in your mind when you feel fear, you can change everything.

In the beginning of my coaching career, I was doing speaking engagements. I was hired by an OSHA organization to speak at a conference for safety professionals. I had never done anything like this before. I was afraid, but I had enough confidence in my abilities and enough courage to say yes. I would figure it out. As I was heading for the event, I kept replaying a script from the day before. I was volunteering at a personal development seminar, and someone said something to me. I took their words as a personal attack. I don’t know if they meant it as an attack, but I took it that way. I couldn’t get those negative thoughts out of my head and I knew they were going to completely disrupt my confidence. I needed to do something to change the script before this event. So, I called a friend whom I trust and admire.

She said, “Laura, you know you’ve always been a powerful speaker. But I never noticed you really stepping into your own and having this level of confidence until recently. With all these years of personal development and growth that you’ve been doing, I can really see a difference.”

I started to choke up. She had hit a nerve. I really needed to hear that right then. I realized in that moment that I was facing my terror barrier and it was up to me to break through it.

I showed up for the event and did the three-hour workshop, and it was a huge success. After I spoke, I was approached by a woman from an international trade magazine. She was impressed and wanted to know if I was an international speaker? I immediately said yes. Because in that moment, when you crash through the terror, and you crash through the fear, and you do the thing you are afraid to do, you instantly become someone else. Someone confident. Someone who can do impossible things. So, I became an international speaker.

I don’t want fear to hold you back. Fears are tissue-paper thin, and after we break through, we think, “What was the big deal? What was I so afraid of?”

You have two parts of your brain. The conscious and the subconscious. Your subconscious mind is your paradigm, your belief system. It dictates your habits. It’s how you’ve been conditioned to show up in your life.

But now you want to get different results. You have a new goal that you want to achieve. Something you’ve never done before. But your conditioning is keeping you stuck. You keep doing the same thing all the time and getting the same results. With the new goal or idea, you have to get more emotionally involved if you want to change your subconscious conditioning. But your old way of thinking is still getting in the way—see the paradox?

You have a choice. You either continue to do what you’ve always done, or you break through the terror barrier. Freedom is on the other side of that barrier, I promise.

I get it—the old way is the safe way. However, safety doesn’t mean fulfillment. Safety doesn’t mean you are creating an impact in your own life. Safety will keep you stuck. But once you start to understand how fear works in your mind, and you get people around you who can help with making paradigm shifts and overcoming your blind spots, you are closer to freedom. It’s right there for you.

Making subconscious shifts is possible. It’s a choice. It’s not easy, but I’ll take you step by step through the process. A great place to start would be to head over to www.ratracereboot.com and download The Six Mindset Changing Techniques to Lead A More Fulfilled Life. You can break through the barrier too.

Comment below and let me know what barrier you broke through this week!