What fear does

Fear is part of most people's lives. To varying degrees. I have had quite a bit of fear in my life and many times when I have felt fear it seems to have brought what I was fearing into my life.

To live without fear is probably possible. I have not come to that point yet. But I am getting better at having less fear in my life. Earlier this year the college, where I work, was having to lay off several positions due to the financial situation in California. While this process was going on, I decided to control my fear and eliminate it the best I could. I felt very little fear and that might have helped in keeping my job at the school.

An example of fear pulling into my life what I was fearing happened many years ago. I was going to move in with a friend. We had known each other for a few years and I enjoyed having him as a friend. For some reason I started feeling fearful a couple of months before the move that he would meet someone - he and I were "just" friends and did not have a relationship. About a week after I had moved in, he met a woman who lived in the same area, they got involved and she got pregnant just a few months later. Some people might say that it would have happened anyway. I believe it happened for me to realize that fear pulls what you fear into your life. And that was a very clear example.

Right now I am in a situation where I need to make sure that I do not focus on fear as I believe that my name might have been "stolen." I am not sure about the extent of this yet, but I have already felt some fear that something bad might happen. Identity theft is very common here in the US and in other countries as well. The more I can focus on a positive outcome, the more likely it is that it will turn out that way. Fear will not lead to anything positive. Sometimes this is easier said than done though.

Fear is a powerful and sometimes overpowering feeling and emotion. It is possible though to decide not to focus on it and to focus on a more expansive and uplifting feeling instead. A lot has to do with making a decision what to focus on. Sometimes fear is a valid emotion and is actually helpful, but most of the time it is in the way of living a life from your heart.