Learn to be Fearless
How do your fears show up in your daily life? Do you ever think about what you really want to be doing in life yet fear of the unknown is stopping you from even starting? I think people often get into routines of life and one day wake up and years have passed and they are still doing the same things they were doing 20 years ago. Their routine might look slightly different but the general they didn’t achieve what they wanted to achieve simply because they were too scared to start. Even if it was something as simple as always wanting to take a dance class.
Want to write a book? Start writing. The only way you get better is to write and keep writing and continue to write. One of my favourite books, “Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear,” by Elizabeth Gilbert, in it she talks about how she was always writing and she worked numerous jobs while she wrote and it wasn’t until, “Eat Pray Love” hit it big that she quit her job and became a full-time writer. She wrote because she loved to write and did not let fear hold her back she allowed the power of her creativity to flow.
I truly believe we are all infinitely creative and that when we let our creativity shine we truly are able to truly flourish. However, many people stop pursuing their creativity because they are almost educated out of their creativity as Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk “Do Schools Kill Creativity,” points out and he calls for our school systems to shift to cultivate creativity. This TED talk is still the most watched TED talks of all time. Yet since 2006, very little has shifted in the education system as a whole. This deeply saddens me because I think it is through our creativity that we ultimately become fearless creators of our lives.
I co-wrote and illustrated a book years ago called, “I am Fearless: A Yoga Story for Kids and Superheroes,” it is a really empowering little book of messages and affirmations to help kids deeply connect with themselves and what their inner superpowers are. I still to this day use this book almost every year to help teach kids that they have the power within themselves to achieve anything they put their minds to.
It is interesting working with kids vs working with adults. When I teach art, kids dive right in and paint and colour without any analyzing, I oftentimes have to not put out the paint until I have completely given instructions or they are already in the paint and diving into their inspiration. Adults are very different, they think, plan, double check and almost paralyze themselves trying to decide what colour to choose. I wonder what it is and if Ken Robinson was right many people are educated out of their creativity and eventually quit exploring that part of themselves.
My hope for you is if you have lost that part of yourself that you take some time this week to reconnect with it. How has your fears or insecurities held you back from showing up as your most creative and authentic self? You have the power to step a newer version of yourself and learn to be a fearless creator.
