Podcast Episode 231 - 5 Questions to Take You From Fear to Freedom - Question 5 - How Do You Live Fearlessly Free?
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Do you have a dream or want to live a life of significance? Me too!
Do you want to fulfill your God-given purpose and long to hear, “well done my good and faithful servant,” but at this rate, you’re afraid you’ll miss the boat? I’ve been there!
Are you stuck at the starting gate, or maybe you stepped out and froze with fear? I hear ya!
In this series, we’ve tackled five questions that’ll take you from fear to freedom. It’s freedom day– it’s time to Live Fearlessly Free so you can finally fulfill your dreams.
Today is for you if:
If you need the courage to step out into the unknown called your dreams.
If you’re unsure, you can do what God put in your heart.
If you’re ready to release the fear and are willing to live your life fearlessly free.
God has called you to a life of purpose and significance. Fear is the biggest obstacle to fulfilling your dreams – living your dreams.
You learned nine core fears at the root of all our fears.
1 Fear of mistakes
2 Fear you can’t be loved for yourself
3 Fear of failure
4 Fear something’s missing in you
5 Fear of looking incompetent
6 Fear the world isn’t safe
7 Fear of pain or unpleasant feelings
8 Fear of appearing weak or vulnerable
9 Fear of losing connection
Which core fear is yours?
Mine is #9 Fear of losing connection. Everything I fear has a fear of losing connection at the core.
But our fear is costing us dearly. For decades it cost me my dreams and, more importantly, the deep connections I desperately wanted. So my fear was causing the very thing I was trying to avoid.
How do we take what we’ve learned about our core fears and go from fear to freedom?
We need to answer Question #5–How do you Live Fearlessly Free?
As I’ve been learning how to go from fear to freedom in my journey, God taught me three lessons to get me Living Fearlessly Free. These lessons take me from fear to freedom.
It’s allowing me to finally stop hiding, show up fully myself and fulfill His purpose. And, when I fall back into old habits, it gets me moving again.
1. Delight in Intimacy with God
Everything builds off our relationship with our Heavenly Father. As our Creator, He knows what makes us tick. He knows all the challenges we have faced, is facing and will ever face.
Psalm 16:11b NIV
In His presence is fullness of joy.
Now that you’re delighting in an intimate relationship with Father, you can stop hiding, and it opens your eyes to discover your true identity.
2. Discover Your Identity
When you embrace your true identity, you can show up fully yourself.
You need the final lesson, and that’s where we’re focusing today.
Showing up fully myself in my edna mode disney dress
3. Direct Your Imagination
Fear uses our imagination to work against us. But we need to learn how to get it working for us.
Your mind is powerful. And it can work for or against you; you get to choose.
Develop Your Mindset
To get it working for you, it starts with developing the right mindset.
Dr. Caroline Leaf, the author of Clean Up Your Mental Mess, says, “We think, we feel, and then we choose.”
Are your choices when you’re in fear giving you what you want in life?
If not, direct your imagination to work for you by developing your mindset by choosing the right thoughts.
Develop Your Discipline
It takes discipline to keep your thoughts, feelings and actions going in the right direction.
Put the habits in place that support our imagination to keep working for us.
Develop Your Courage
Courage isn’t the absence of fear; it’s doing that thing you’re afraid of anyway.
Courage is like a power plant. Power plants don’t have energy; they generate energy.
Generate = To bring into existence; cause to be; produce.
They produce electrical energy by converting mechanical energy into a state we can use to power our homes.
You generate courage by staying on the Courageous Cycle.
The Courageous Cycle is a four-step process that will take you from fear to freedom.
It gets you moving no matter what you’re feeling at the moment.
Courageous Cycle:
Tune In
Turn Down
Speak Up
Step Out
1. Tune In
Tune into what’s going on inside you.
Tune into your Head, Heart and Gut.
These are our three brains.
We Think > We Feel > We Act
Because our choices create actions.
Tune into your Head.
What are you thinking?
What thoughts are producing fear?
Tune into your Heart.
What is your heart saying?
How does that fear make you feel?
Tune into your Gut.
Where do you feel fear in your body?
2. Turn Down
Turn down the negative, fearful noise.
Turn down the fear in your Head
Switch your thoughts from Fearful thoughts to Freedom thoughts.
Turn down the fear in your Heart
Put your hand on your heart.
The vagus nerve stimulates certain muscles in the heart that help to slow heart rate.
Turn down the fear in your Gut
Breathe into the fear.
Breathe in for four seconds; breathe out for eight.
Literally, breathe in freedom and breath our fear.
3. Speak Up
Speak up for yourself.
Speak up for your freedom.
Speak up for your dreams.
Speak up in your Head
Speak your freedom thoughts out loud.
When I fainted, I would tell myself I was stronger than I thought.
Speak up in your Heart
Speak how you’re going to feel when you’re walking in courage.
Remind yourself why you’re pushing yourself.
I would speak out who I’m being courageous for.
Speak up in your Gut
Speak about what you’re capable of doing.
Speak what Father says about you.
“You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.”
You are more capable than you realize.
4. Step Out
Step out of your comfort zone and into your dreams.
You’ll fulfill your dreams in your uncomfortable zone.
So you’ve got to get comfortable being uncomfortable.
Step out in your Head
Choose courageous thoughts.
Step out in your Heart
Remind yourself how it’ll feel to do this scary thing courageously.
Get in touch with why you’re doing what you’re doing.
Step out in your Gut
Act. It’s time to take action.
Step out of your comfort zone, into your uncomfortable zone and do that thing afraid.
Tune In: Tune into your Head, Heart and Gut to know where the fear is coming from.
Turn Down: Turn down the negative, fearful noise.
Speak Up: Speak up for your dreams.
Step Out: Step out of your comfort zone and into your dreams.
Every time you step out of your comfort zone, you generate more courage to keep going. You see what’s possible. Your confidence grows and gives you more courage to keep going.
Every time you go through the Courageous Cycle, you’re generating courage.
Courage is already in you…but you need to generate it!
I want to leave you with an exercise. If you ever think or feel like you can’t be courageous enough.
Take a deep breath, as much as you can hold.
Hold it.
Now, breathe in a little more.
Hold it.
Breathe in a little more.
Release your breath slowly.
How did you breathe more air when your first breath was as much as possible?
When you think you can’t handle anymore…yes, you can!
Generate the courage to keep going and Live Fearlessly Free using the Courageous Cycle.
You are a gift to the world, but you must give it. But if you’re in fear, you won’t give it.
As you Live Fearlessly Free, you can stop hiding, show up fully yourself and fulfill your God-given purpose.
If you need someone to come alongside you so you can continually Live Fearlessly Free, click here to fill out the coaching discovery call form and let’s see if we’re a good fit for each other. (Or click the coaching tab above.)