Busy day today, folks, so this is going to be a quickie.
In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield says:
"The more scared we are of a work or a calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.... the more fear we feel about a specific enterprise, the more certain we can be that that enterprise is important to us and the growth of our soul."
What do you think? Discuss.
Thursday, October 20
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I believe there is good fear - like this and bad fear (like falling off a cliff.) Pushing through the good fear is a positive thing.
ReplyDeleteOh, I like this Laurel and I find that it is true. I also think that those things which scare us the most are also the things that are more rewarding to acheive in the end.
ReplyDeleteI agree! Interestingly I posted on 'calling' this week. It is usually when we feel most unqualified that we are headed in the right direction. It is not the qualified that is called, it is the call that qualifies.
ReplyDeleteWow. That is a great quote. One I want to chew on and think about for a while.
ReplyDeleteI love that. It is so true. It's scary, but we need to force ourselves to take the tough path in life, not hang out on the easy one. :)
ReplyDeleteAngela @ The Bookshelf Muse
Holly: I also resonated with the idea of our fears revealing what's important to us.
ReplyDeleteKelly: It's natural to fear change, and doing hard things definitely require that we change, but the end result is so rewarding.
Lynn: Yeah, the idea that it's the call that qualifies has so many Biblical examples, like Moses and David. Thanks for that reminder!
ReplyDeleteJanet: it really presses us in the places that resist changing and maturing, doesn't it?
Angela: The scary inverse of this is that if we let fear always hold us back, we stagnate and decay.
This is so true and yet, it doesn't make things any less scary or daunting. At least, not while fiction about very real issues, or poetry that is meant to have some meaning.
ReplyDeleteFear is a good thing. It keeps grounded in the potential beyond that fear. Though too much fear can be paralyzing for me.
ReplyDeleteAh, definitely food for thought. I think fear can be a motivator in some ways, a catalyst to push forward and grow.
ReplyDeleteAngela F.: I think he means that we aren't scared when something doesn't matter to us. The more it matters, the more we fear messing up.
ReplyDeleteEmy: I think Pressfield wants to challenge us to not let paralysis sink in. Fear means you care!
Karen: Fear can be a catalyst when we see it rightly as a barometer of what matters deeply to us.