When is the last time you reflected upon your childhood? Take a minute now and try to drift back to a time when you were young.  Do you remember blowing out your birthday candles and believing that your wish would actually come true? Or do you recall feeling courageous in your favorite superhero cape and convincing  yourself that you could do anything—even fly? Can you still remember the joy you once found in the simple things like catching fireflies or running through sprinklers? Have you ever looked back upon these pleasant times and wondered, “What happened to that carefree child?” I know I have.

We all came into this life with a positive view of the world. We were excited and imaginative, and we saw the entire earth as our playground. Then, somewhere along our way, most of us lost our childlike sense of adventure. Perhaps this stems from telling ourselves that we have to “grow up” and become more serious and realistic. I believe, however, that the biggest cause for changing that youthful excitement and optimism can be summed up in one word:  fear.  

As a life coach I am often asked, “How can I learn to live without fear,” or “How can I stop feeling afraid?”  The simple answer is, “You can’t–and that’s ok.” We are here on earth to feel all the feelings and our bodies are created to do so. When we come to understand and actually internalize that we have the capacity to process and handle any negative emotion, we become unstoppable! 

When we choose to feel the fear and take that first apprehensive step forward we remove a huge stumbling block from our path.  Now all we have to do is tighten up that superhero cape, get out of our own way and take flight.