Facing Fears to Embrace Courage

By: Felice St. John 

“Playing big doesn't come from working more, pushing harder, or finding confidence. It comes from listening to the most powerful and secure part of you, not the voice of self-doubt.” -Tara Mohr

 

The courage to take that next small best step forward can be really tough, and it will look different for each of us moment by moment. I remember summoning up courage to bungee jump in South Africa, to speak up to someone who hurt me, to send my kids into school in tears and to even to get out of bed on a difficult day.

In Tara Mohr’s book, Playing Big: Practical Wisdom for Women Who Want to Speak Up, Create and Lead, Mohr discusses two types of fear as learned from Rabbi Alan Lew. As Lew explains the first type of fear is Pashad which is a “projected or imagined fear.” This “what-if” fear is where we are overthinking something or a fear that comes from irrationality.

The second type of fear according to Lew is Yirah “the fear that overcomes us when we suddenly find ourselves in possession of considerably more energy than we are used to, inhabiting a larger space than we are used to inhabiting. It is also the feeling we feel when we are on sacred ground.” While Pashad is associated with the panic feeling, Yirah is associated with the feeling of awe.

While Pashad stops us, Yirah can actually propel us. Read more about these two types of fear here. 

When I was 27, I was working a job that I did not enjoy and felt  trapped in. I stayed there for two years, letting the Pashad type of fear keep me stuck and immobile. I then made the choice to move to Manhattan without a job, letting Yirah fear propel me into courage as I took a leap of faith. For me, the courage to move to New York City eventually led me to a job I loved, new friends and opportunities. Allowing Yirah to empower me also enabled me to meet my husband and to ultimately gain a deeper sense of courage.

Making the choice to allow fear to propel us forward instead of holding us back builds courage. 

 The next time you are experiencing fear, I invite you to pause, take a breath and let fear be your motivator.

Where in your life are you currently facing fear?

How can you let fear propel you forward into courage this week?