Why We Shouldn’t Be Afraid of Fear & Doubt

“Always do what you are afraid to do.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Fear. It has been called “dream killer”, “toxic” and my personal favorite: “spiritual poison”. Without question, fear (and its accomplice doubt) can seem pretty nasty. At least, at first glance. But are they—really?

Before I go any further I’d like to clarify the kind of fear I’m discussing here.

I’m not talking about what you feel when that huge, angry dog jumps out from behind a corner. Obviously, this physical fear response is necessary. If we didn’t listen to it, we might just end up as Kibbles ‘n Bits. This kind of fear is a good thing, without question.

What I’m talking about is the deep-down feeling that whispers in your ear. It seems to say things like: “It won’t work”, “You’re not good enough” or it simply tells us to give up. You know what I’m talking about. We’ve all heard the voices of Fear and Doubt. It works at a spiritual level.

It’s easy to see why Fear and Doubt gets so much bad press, especially from the self-help movement. Personal development coaches and spiritual gurus worldwide regularly take pot-shots at this misunderstood duo. They write books on conquering fear and squashing doubt, put on “fear-busting” workshops and regularly blog about Fear and Doubt’s dangers. Myself included.

I suppose you really can’t blame us, after-all Fear and Doubt can be so—well, scary.

In fact, if I were to write a fictional story personifying Fear and Doubt, they’d seem like the obvious choice for the villains. They are mysterious. They only come out during our darkest and lowest points. And we call them “FEAR” and “DOUBT” for pity’s sake! To be honest, from this perspective, they do kind of seem indefensible.

But to paint anything with one brush stroke is unfair and a bit cliché. I think clichés rarely speak truth. They are usually bias, superficial and pulled from ignorance and prejudice. And as I just learned from the Guardian’s of the Galaxy movie: “Nobody is a 100% a-hole.”

No, spiritual fear must have a purpose. It must be trying to tell us something.

Think about it. If our physical fear response is an inbuilt safety mechanism that protects us from physical danger, then is it so hard to accept that our spiritual fear response mechanism is any less noble?

Let’s imagine that we have Fear and Doubt all wrong. What if, instead of being the villains of the story—they are the unsung heroes?

Yah right! The things that crush our dreams and aspirations are actually here to help us. Sure they are…

For the next minute or so, I invite you to open you mind to the possibility that Fear and Doubt might not be so bad, after all.

So if Fear and Doubt are not the villains of the story, what are they?

They are Lighthouse Keepers

Fear and Doubt tirelessly watch for when we go off course. From a spiritual or personal development point-of-view, going off course means stepping outside the present moment.
They keep a constant vigil, warning us of when we are straying into dangerous territory by casting their guiding light.

They do this with subtle warnings—at first. We may get an “uneasy feeling” or “feel off”. These are the disquieting messages we hear—the whispers of doubt.

We only hear these messages when the rocks are nearby.

The problem is not the message, the problem is our misinterpretation of the message. All too often we fail to see the true purpose of Fear and Doubt, which is to guide us back on course and into the present moment and realign us with our unlimited potential.

We tend to turtle and end up quitting instead of simply making that needed adjustment, that simple course correction.

They are Loyal and Steadfast Companions

If we don’t heed those first, subtle warnings the gentle nudges become harder knocks and more difficult to ignore. And you can count on Fear and Doubt to send up the alarm as loud as needed to get your attention.

There is a story out of the States about a man whose house was burning down as he slept. His dog barked and barked, trying to warn its master, but the man ignored the dog. Finally, the dog bit the man. The man awoke to find his house on fire. Both the man and his dog escaped the blaze.

Fear and Doubt work much in the same way. They are our loyal companions—inborn spiritual mechanisms designed to guide and protect us, no matter what.

A spiritual bite might look like repeated problems, set-backs and failures. It feels like we just can’t catch a break. We may start to get down on ourselves and question if it’s worth the effort. We doubt if our goals and dreams will ever materialize.

This is a critical point. A misinterpretation of the message here can cause a person to quit and crumble. But remember, it’s not Fear and Doubts’ message that is causing the strain, it is the misalignment with your own unlimited potential and the present moment that is causing Fear and Doubt to “bite” you.

They Just Might Be Our Guardian Angels

If we manage to ignore the gentle nudges and even the bites, Fear and Doubt will bring out the “big guns”.

This happens only after we have become so wrapped up in our own drama and have gone so far off course that everything seems threatened. We can no longer even see the goal and our very life’s purpose appears lost.

This is what we sometimes call “hitting spiritual rock bottom”. It is our most dangerous and vulnerable spiritual point.

We are standing at the edge of the cliff, only we are so blinded and lost that we don’t even know that we have a choice to step back. Panic is now running the show. Fear and Doubt need to get our attention and they need to do it quickly.

So it only makes sense that Fear and Doubt will be the loudest here. At this point, they start to look a little like guardian angels. This is our darkest hour and yet loyal Fear and Doubt have not forsaken you. They will do everything they can to get you back on course and into the light.

So Fear and Doubt, as a last resort, will offer up a spiritual slap in the face. A loud and clear message to wake up — or else. This may look and feel like a crisis of faith in yourself and your dreams.

It is here where we make or break it. Either we listen to the message and pull back into the present moment and once again focus completely and wholly on the things we want—or we don’t. Misinterpretations of Fear and Doubt’s messages at this juncture can be catastrophic.

Fear and Doubt always remind us that our lives are about choices. We can either focus on what we want (our unlimited potential that exists within the present moment) or we can focus on what we don’t want (the fear of not reaching that potential).

If you have a dream, then stay present with that dream. Don’t regret the failures of the past or worry about what might happen in the future. Fear and Doubt is only trying to help us to stay present, aligned and in tune.

The fear we feel isn’t meant to tell us that we can’t do a thing, that’s its impossible. It is intended to remind us of our unlimited potential.

From now on, try using Fear and Doubt in a new way. See them as the helpful guides and the loyal companions they are.

It kind of gives a whole new meaning to the saying, “Don’t shoot the messenger”, doesn’t it?

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