You’re Not Broken, You’re Just Living in Fear
There was a time when I didn’t realize how much fear was running my life. Fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of not being good enough. It wasn’t always loud — sometimes it was a whisper, a subtle resistance, or a quiet self-sabotage.
But one truth changed everything:
Our thoughts fuel our emotions, and our emotions then fuel our actions.
That means when we shift our thoughts, we shift our emotions — and that changes how we show up in life.
Once I became aware that my subconscious beliefs were steering the wheel, I decided to take back control. Not overnight. Not perfectly. But one day at a time — with 3 powerful daily mindset practices that helped me go from fearful to fearless.
Let’s dive in.
1. You Have Control (Let Me Show You)
The first thing I had to realize was: I am not my thoughts.
Most of us go through life in auto-pilot mode, letting our subconscious mind (aka our inner child) run the show.
Our inner child is sensitive, reactive, and often believes the world is either completely safe or a total threat. Why? Because it’s built on years of early experiences, misunderstandings, and survival patterns.
As children, we absorbed the world without filters — the tone of someone’s voice, the look someone gave us, or the feeling of being left out. Our little minds tried to make sense of it all, often forming beliefs like:
- "I’m not lovable."
- "If I try, I’ll fail."
- "Being seen is dangerous."
And let’s be honest, interpreting life as a child? It’s rarely accurate. But those beliefs stuck, and they still run quietly in the background, they became our subconscious rules — the ones that shape our fears as adults. It’s no wonder that socializing, speaking up, or going after our goals now feel like "threats."
Here's another example, if you were rejected as a kid, your inner child may have decided:
“Rejection is dangerous. Let’s avoid anything that might lead to it.”
So now, as an adult, you feel social anxiety — your brain flags social interaction as a threat.
But here’s the truth:
“It didn’t feel good to be rejected, but I am safe now. I am not that child anymore, so if I'm rejected by someone it just means they're not for me and that's okay.”
You are the adult now and you know you are safe.
Every time you feel those old, fearful thoughts creeping in, interrupt them with something random —
- “Bumblebees buzzzz!”
- “Pineapples wear hats!”
Sounds silly, right? But it works — because it stops your thought loop in its tracks. And in that pause, you can shift your focus to the present moment:
- Your breath.
- Your surroundings.
- A new intentional thought.
Daily Practices:
Next time you find yourself in unhelpful thoughts or spiralling in fear, interrupt the thought with something silly like:
- “Pineapples where hats!”
- “Hakuna Matata”
Why? Because it shocks your brain out of the thought loop. You pause the pattern and take your power back.
From there :
- Take a deep breath.
- Ground yourself in the present moment - feel, hear, look.
- Choose a new thought — intentionally.
The secret is this: when you’re not intentionally choosing your thoughts, your subconscious mind (what I call my inner child) takes over.
You’re not stuck. Stop the thought in it's tracks and take back control.
2. Shift Your Perspective: It’s Not About Winning, It’s About Growth
Once I began controlling my thoughts, I realized something else was holding me back: Fear. Fear of failure, fear or rejection, fear of not being enough.
But here’s the shift that changed everything:
Lets take my fear of failure for example -
I stopped focusing my goals around success or failure — and started focusing them on growth or growth.
Instead of:
"What If I fail?" Try "What experience will I gain?"
"What if I get I wrong" Try " Will I be a step closer to getting it right?"
Daily Practice:
Instead of focusing on what could go wrong, ask yourself:
- How can I learn a little more today?
- Mistakes are part of Mastery, what experience will I gain from this?
- Can this take me a step forward ?
Because when growth is your focus, fear loses its grip.
Every step forward — even if it’s messy — makes you wiser, braver, and more aligned. If you win, great. If you learn a lesson, even better. Either way… you win.
3. Feel Your Emotions — Don’t Fear Them
You’ll notice that when you interrupt and reframe your thoughts, your emotions begin to shift too.
But instead of trying to control or suppress your emotions — what if you simply allowed them and regenerate them at will?
Here’s the truth:
Emotions are physical sensations in the body. That’s it.
For example:
- Overwhelm might feel like a balloon slowly inflating in your head.
- Excitement might buzz at the base of your ribs.
- Anxiety might feel like tightness in your chest or jolts in your hands.
So when an emotion comes up, I don’t push it away anymore. I sit with it, I notice it, I ask:
- Where do I feel this in my body?
- What does it feel like — heat, tightness, tingling?
- Can I let it be here without needing to change it?
By doing this, the emotion softens and eventually fades on its own. That’s how I release it — not by fighting it, but by feeling it fully.
And here’s the beautiful part: once you learn to sit in positive emotions and notice how they physically feel, you can recreate them too.
Instead of chasing feelings from outside things, you can generate them yourself:
- Sit in the feeling of peace in the morning.
- Meditate in the feeling of confidence.
- Soak in gratitude for 2 minutes a day.
It’s a game changer.
You can feel confident, peaceful, and loved now — no external validation needed.
Oh, and don’t forget the Tony Robbins trick:
Move your body! Shake it out. Jump around. Dance like no one’s watching.
Changing your physical state helps change your emotional state too.
Final Words: Your Fear Isn’t the Enemy — Avoiding It Is
Each of these practices has one thing in common: self-leadership.
They don’t require perfection. They just require presence.
- Interrupting your thoughts = control.
- Shifting your perspective = growth.
- Feeling your emotions = freedom.
You’re not your scared inner child anymore.
You are safe. You are powerful. You are allowed to steer your life.
And whether your next step is small or bold — you’re already on the path from fearful to Powerful.
Want a Daily Practice That Supports This?
My Limitless Life Digital Planner is designed around these exact tools — to help you shift your thoughts, reshape your perspective, and reconnect with your inner peace and power every single day.
Or use your own journal to stay intentional and accountable. You can later look back on how far you've come and further support a new belief system of self-control, growth and freedom.