Think about this for a second, just a split second. How much are you living in other people’s perception of you? How many of your decisions and what you do is based on who they think you are – what you can and can’t do. Do you live down to their expectations or are you able to surpass their expectations, surprising them, surprising yourself.
We probably like to think we’re not trapped by such influences or external pressures, but what things have you wanted to try but didn’t because you were afraid of what other’s might think if you “fail” or are “not good” at it. Or how about this, do you act one way with one set of friends and differently in another. Or do you have your filter on high, because you’re afraid of how you’ll be judged by what you say.
Of course, we need some conformity to be able to get along, it’s also a practice of empathy and understanding, but also we need to reach within to reach out, to be ourselves, embrace ourselves, so that we can be embraced by others. The “fearless” version of ourselves and not a forced fearless version, i.e. ignoring or suppressing fear, but being in a state of the absence of fear.