Four Mindset Shifts to Break Free From Fear
Dear Friends,
Today’s letter was inspired by a post I recently wrote on LinkedIn. It resonated with a lot of individuals so I wanted to expand on it and share it with you all as well. This is a more personal letter than usual, but I hope that by sharing these struggles, you’ll know that you are not alone and feel inspired to keep investing in yourself. Here it goes:
Like so many people, I spent most of my life terrified of not being enough and living in constant fear.
We all mask it in different ways. In my case, my masks were overachieving (e.g. college at 14, World Bank at 18, Harvard by 22), perfectionism, and people-pleasing.
I had no idea who I was underneath it all. Life kept pushing me to my breaking point mentally, emotionally, and physically until I finally woke up, started to get curious about what was really going on, and turned inward.
It has taken years of deep exploration to get to know myself, heal my relationship with myself, and finally flow with ease (and I’m still a work in progress).
Throughout this process, I adopted four beliefs that were instrumental in helping me break free:
I am enough.
I am worthy of peace, ease, and joy.
I am exactly where I am supposed to be in this moment.
Whatever is meant for me is arriving in perfect timing.
These statements started out as affirmations/reminders that I used to say to myself in the mirror a couple of times a day, every day. At one point, I had written them on Post-it notes and they were all over my living space. But saying these affirmations only provided momentary relief.
I needed to get to the root of why these statements did not ring true for me. As I continued exploring and healing at a deeper level, my mind eventually started to make new neural pathways and these words started to seep into my psyche and way of being.
This was not an easy process. In fact, it has been the hardest work I’ve ever done.
Adopting these beliefs meant shedding a lot of old ones.
It meant understanding my traumas and healing the parts of myself that were stuck in all that fear.
It meant a lot of practice, patience, self-compassion, and gentleness.
It meant allowing myself to be vulnerable and lean on others for support.
It meant healing my nervous system and learning to feel safe to live fully in the present moment.
It meant sitting with myself in solitude and remembering what my inner being already knew.
It meant stepping into a new way of BEING.
It meant stepping into faith and living in alignment with who I am and my values.
It also meant letting go of anyone and anything that did not support my new way of being and feeling all the grief that accompanied this transition.
It meant becoming lighter and finding ease in my mind, body, heart, and spirit.
It meant finally being able to be in my body, feel my toes in the sand, enjoy the ocean breeze on my face, and simply be... be at peace with myself.
I wholeheartedly wish this for you and for anyone who may be struggling out there.
Please know that you are not alone. Please know you are worth this effort and it is the best investment you could ever make.
You are enough.
You are worthy of peace, ease, and joy.
You are exactly where you are supposed to be in this moment.
And whatever is meant for you is arriving in perfect timing.
Keep filling yourself up with love, kindness, and gentleness, and know that it is your own light that will guide you home to your truest and freest self.
Sending so much love to you all!
Maliheh