Is it a coincidence that there are seven areas of your life you need to master and seven fears that hold you back? Dr. John Demartini doesn’t think so. It’s time to get over whatever is holding you back and achieve greatness.
There are seven areas of life we are here to master: spiritual, mental, vocational, financial, familial, social and physical. Each of these areas can be either powerfully supportive of your genius, or they can impede it. There are also seven common fears and guilts; these fragment our full potential in each of these areas. The only difference between somebody who does what they love and someone who doesn’t is the former has the ability to identify their fears and has a strategy to break through them.
The first fear is the spiritual fear of breaking some perceived authority’s ethics. Morals are the rules we impose on ourselves, and ethics are the imposed rules between others and ourselves. Many people let those fears stop them from doing what they love and expressing their genius because they fear that others may not approve of them.
The second fear is the mental fear of not knowing enough. This fear can keep you from doing what you really love. People plagued by this fear constantly say to themselves: “I just don’t know enough. I’m not smart enough. I don’t have the education for it.” That’s another illusion because, no matter what level you’re currently at, you have the capacity to do whatever you dream of doing. No matter how much you know, you will have the unknown. You attract opportunities according to your level of knowing. As you know more you grow more. By loving yourself even when you don’t know, you liberate yourself to learn.
The third fear is the vocational fear of failure. You must be able to love failure as much as success since you fail and succeed equally and constantly. Have you ever set yourself goals that went unrealised? Everyone does. You’re a success and failure constantly throughout your life, and you need both. Babe Ruth had the most home runs and the most strikeouts, and that is the magnificence of failure.
The fourth fear is the financial fear of poverty. Here you fear that if you would go out and do what you truly would love to do, you won’t make enough money at it. If you love something and are committed to doing whatever it takes to succeed, if you value money highly, follow the financial laws of success and save, you can certainly build wealth doing what you would love.
The fifth fear is the fear of losing your loved ones. Many people feel that if they do what they love they will lose someone they love. I think what stabilised my marriage is that we don’t so much need each other as we just love each other. There’s a big difference. We both have an independent life, and if either of us were to leave, the other would still function.
The sixth fear is the fear of social rejection. This is a big fear. Some people are not doing what they love because they’re afraid people will reject them. The truth is, acceptance and rejection are a part of a full life, and the more extraordinary you become, the more you will receive of both. Learn to appreciate both equally and you are free. People come and go – they’re transient – but you’re with you for the whole trip, and it’s your life. Never sacrifice the eternal for the transient. Embrace both sides of life equally.
The seventh and last fear is the fear of ill health, death, or disease. Some people don’t live their dream because they’re afraid they’ll die if they do, or they won’t have the energy. But the greatest cause of illness, disease, and death is not living your dreams. That’ll kill you quicker than anything else. Inspiration and gratitude heal and empower, and if you’re not doing what you love you’ll feel ungrateful and desperate.
You can break through or break down in all seven areas of life. When you break down, you’re listening to your fearful self; when you break through, you’re listening to your immortal self. But don’t think that you’re ever going to be without fears in your life. Fear means you’re growing and challenging yourself to move beyond your comfort zones. I have fears almost every day, but I know that fear is an incomplete view of what is occurring, so I identify the fear, bring it to completion and balance, and then walk through it. I suggest you do the same.
