Follow the Fear
The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek – Joseph Campbell
It happened on the last day of my coach training course. I was sitting on the conference room floor with another participant. The early spring sun was beaming through the windows. We were in the middle of an exercise on fierce courage when she reflected my words back to me. The words of the next steps I wanted to take in my life. And in that moment, I felt a wave of fear wash over me, and I proclaimed out loud, “I’m scared!”
There was no anxiety, just fear. I realized that I was stepping into something larger than myself. Something I had never done before. Something many professionals would not do. To leave the safety of a stable career and a biweekly paycheck. To follow a pull from the Universe inside me. To coach full time. That was the treasure I was seeking and I had to enter the cave.
In a previous post, I described courage as the ability to take action in the presence of fear. In this post, I’m talking about taking action because of the fear. Seeing fear as a guide on the path to finding what you want or desire.
Master coach and author, Rich Litvin, says, “Your fears are a mask for your desires.” He walks the talk. He has a staff member who helps him do the things he’s afraid of. He tells a story of sitting down with her and listing his fears. One of them was boxing. The next morning, she texted him, “I’ve booked your first boxing class for 0500 tomorrow morning.” That was one year ago and now he boxes regularly.†
The wonderful thing about seeing and examining this type of fear, is when we really meet it and look at it (instead of giving it side glances), it starts to lose its charge. Under the light of awareness and inquiry, fear may reveal the deep desire that lies underneath. But when fear is unexamined, it can become a limiting force.
In its attempts to ensure survival, fear will arise when we do anything that involves taking a risk. It will cause discomfort. It’s up to us to shine the light on it. Is this fear protective, signaling you to back off? Or is this fear the gateway to finding your dream?
I am grateful that I embraced the fear I felt on that conference room floor six months ago. I understood its call to enter the cave. I am now inside the cave, slaying dragons daily, and getting closer to my treasure with every step.
Here are some questions to reflect on as you consider following your fear:
What would you do if you had no fear?
What deep desire lies underneath your fear?
What is the treasure in the cave you fear to enter?
Reference:
† Rich Litvin, 1insight podcast episode S7, EP04