choose what is over what if

Sometimes, fear just seeps in our life, and soon we start punishing ourselves with it. Gradually it becomes a part of our everyday life and starts living with us uninvited.

The problem is that as soon as a particular fear enters our mind, our mind clings to it. The traumas from our past start resurfacing and fearful thoughts begin multiplying in our head. We start thinking that something bad is going to happen, and the ensuing negative thoughts become hard to resist. Soon, we find ourselves gripped with fear and horror in our present moments. We constantly worry that our fear would materialize at any moment and our peace, happiness, joy and success would be robbed from us.

The truth is that fear is an illusion and the more we think it is real and start fearing it, the sooner it manifests in our real life. As Craig D. Lounsbrough explains, “Our fear frequently takes the reality of a situation and mythologizes it. And in the end, the ‘myth’ becomes the monster while the ‘fact’ remains the short guy behind the curtain.”

It may be true that you would have gone through some horrific experiences and adversities, but it doesn’t mean that you need to stop yourself from embracing the beauty of your present moments in exchange for something that hasn’t happened yet. Even if our fear becomes real in the future, by worrying about it right now, we would be suffering from it twice. We lose our peace in the present moment as well as go through the pain of a terrible experience in the future, that’s a double whammy. 

Instead, it’s far better to identify and acknowledge your fear, and then let it go. Release it out of your system; let the negative energy not have a grip over you. In that way, you won’t punish yourself with fear.

Who knows what our future has in store for us, it’s fickle and unpredictable. But we can trust life’s seasons — even if a few of them may be unfair to us — and find some refuge in them believing that every single moment in each of them is an opportunity for us to live with peace, happiness and joy. 

It’s always wise to choose the beauty of what is over the fear of what if.