A wise woman once told me that fears cuts you off from the supply of answers.  I had no idea that I had been living much of my life in a state of fear.  I was afraid of change though I wanted change.  I was afraid of not earning enough money, afraid I will never own property and the list goes on.  I was in a state of rote habits, doing what was asked and hoping that my sliver of the pies contains enough for me to get by and maybe, occasionally, thrive.

Afraid to move on from your job that no longer sparks creativity?  Feeling low about moving onto a higher position which challenges you more than where you are and in which you are qualified?  Feeling the pull of starting your own business, but afraid to take the leap?  I was too until I really dug into the idea of fear and how it is not serving me.  What I came to understand is that the origins of these fears were based in thought. One single thought that began years ago or in childhood that was accepted by me and spiraled out of control.  I was told the untruth, or I created it based on an experience.  For example, “Starting your own business is what people with master’s degree do. It is important to take a job that is “safe”.  You can’t make money being creative and, therefore, we can’t support this decision to go to that college.  At this point in your life, you really can’t afford to change directions in your career.  Teachers make no money. It’s a career of love not money”.  The list goes on. These untruths were accepted by me and I held myself in bondage by a system of beliefs I imposed and enforced.  In addition, these thoughts played out in other areas of my life, not just work.

After recognizing this belief system, I decided to begin eliminating the power of each thought one by one.  I did not attack all thoughts at once.  Simply one at a time. When an imperious thought would surface, I would slowly recognize it and dismiss its power by affirming that thought is untrue and replaced it with its opposite.  For example, “Starting your own business is something that people with master’s degrees do” became “I have the creative power to start a business and I have enough support and tools to do so.” Slowly, I became aware of the power of my thoughts and the absolute control I have over my life by rejecting the negative ones.  As I have said before, joy is our birthright.  If you are unhappy with the direction of your career, you have the power to redirect. Want to start your own business? You absolutely can! Eliminate your limited thoughts one belief at a time and watch how your life can change.