Fear of the dark is a fairly common phobia kids deal with. Growing up my closet was right next to my bed. At night the closet door was always open and dark. I remember trying to go to sleep wondering what creepiness lie within the darkness among my clothes and toys. The anxiety would be heightened when I decided to turn my back towards the closet. I lived a life of danger! I’m not sure why I didn’t just shut the door. That fear I had tried to steal my precious sleep but I overcame! Thankfully I got over that fear last year.

Fear often leads to sleepless nights whether or not you are afraid of your closet. Worrying about things out of your control can cause serious mental and health issues. Fear, worry and depression are closely linked. No one thinks, “I should really get some more fear in my life.” General consensus is that being fearful is not beneficial, but we all continue to deal with it. The enemy knows that this tactic works. He has been using it for millennia and will continue to do so until his time is up.

Many young children who have a gift for dreams and visions will often experience night terrors or nightmares as the enemy will try to discourage them from dreaming at all. He wants to scare you away from the very thing that God wants to use to bring great blessing into your life and the lives of others. He would like to use fear to attack your dreams, too. You do not have to let him, though.

According to a study by the National Institute of Mental Health fear is mostly unfounded.

• 60% of things feared will never take place
• 30% of things feared happened in the past and can’t be changed
• 90% of things feared are considered to be insignificant issues
• 88% of things feared in relation to health will not happen

The most damaging aspect of fear is not the expectation of a bad thing happening. The worst part of fear is its ability to keep us from the good things God has for us. The more time we spend in fear the more we are out of faith and not moving in a positive direction. Faith and fear are fighting to occupy the same space in the future.

Stepping in to the unknown is facing your fears. It is possible that there will be failure and discomfort but also there is the opportunity to grow and succeed. God is for you! Who can be against you! Doing nothing will result in nothing happening every single time. Statistics prove that listening to the lies of fear is a waste of your time. You might as well do something constructive with the time you previously used for being afraid of stuff.

Although, I do think its okay if your epic dream scares you a little bit. Just enough for you to realize it cannot be done on your own. A wake up scare to let you know this dream dropped in you from heaven and you will need the Holy Spirit to make it happen. But after that momentary scare it is all about faith from here on out. You taking action. God filling in the blanks. Trust me there will be a lot of blanks to fill in but that is what makes this dream journey exciting.

The fear that is holding back your dream is no different than my childhood closet. It was a tiny room that was only meant for storage. Nothing insidious in there. Fear keeps you enclosed in a small space that has little potential. It can keep you focused on things from your past that you have no use for now. Turn your focus to peace and rest where your dreams come alive and the future is full of hope and promise. I dare you to turn your back on your closet. It’s just a pile of Tonka trucks anyway.

You heard it. That nagging little voice inside of you. Taunting you. Mocking the very idea that you even let the thought happen. Ridiculing your attempts at becoming more than what you currently are.

You know what that voice is? Fear. Fear doesn’t belong. It likes to think it does and it sometimes gets validated by our “what ifs” and “maybe some days.” That voice needs to shut up. It keeps telling you what can’t be done and why it isn’t possible and who will never believe in you and blah, blah, blah.

The fear that keeps our goals minimized should actually be the catalyst to go bigger. When the doubt starts to creep in let it be a reminder that there is so much more to be had. The moment we realize that fear is just a footnote of our former self we can begin to realize that what is inside our heart is a true picture of ourselves. This is the part of us that dreams unattainable goals and unrealistic, fairy-tale endings. When fear has been unceremoniously dismissed we see that these unattainable, unrealistic thoughts are the seeds of our destiny.

With the beginning of a New Year, we’re bombarded with the idea of setting goals, making resolutions, becoming more successful, eating healthier, losing weight … again. Some have come to the conclusion that writing down a set of items to resolve to be better at is a wasted exercise. Nay, it is not, my friend. Not only write down the seemingly repetitive and mundane lists but make sure you are aiming high. A goal to live healthy is amazing, but think about the impact of helping hundreds if not thousands of others live healthy. Insert your passion here. While your beginning may be small and uncelebrated never let that dampen the expanse of your dreams, goals and vision for your life.

If all your goals that you are setting are reachable without the help of anyone else, you’ve got to go bigger! If it’s entirely possible for you to make it happen in the next 30 minutes, then you have set the bar a wee bit too low. Step up your dream game. Stop listening to fear!

In the Mean Time is the Dream Time

What to do while your dream has yet to come true? Take a step in the right direction. No one leaps to the end of the dream at the onset. There is a natural process of working it out so that when you do begin to realize your dreams you are the most effective that you can be. Here are some things to think about when going big with your goals.

1. As mentioned already, shut the door to fear. Silence the voices in your life that keep you from moving forward. Whether that be a mindset, a person or a memory replace those with the potting soil of dreams … hope. Surround yourself with people, thoughts and actions full of hope and vision.
2. Do something practical. You see the end result in your mind. Figure out a real thing you can do to move in that direction. Maybe it’s reading a book to educate yourself further or rubbing elbows (Don’t really rub anyone’s elbows. It’s weird.) with those that are further along in the journey to a similar goal.
3. Don’t stop. There will be times on the journey toward your “unrealistic” dream that you are reminded that it is “unrealistic.” You’ll want to quit. Do not do that. It’s only unrealistic when you actually begin to believe that. You were created for more. Don’t let a temporary set back become a permanent deathbed for your dreams.

The God-given ability to have big goals and accomplish them is not only for yourself but for a whole pile of other people. No one else that ever lived can do exactly what you can do. You are a unique creation with a skill-set perfectly assembled to make that dream a reality. We’re all waiting for you to become what you were created to be!

Fear will try to interject itself throughout your goal-attaining journey. Fear says you cannot that means that you absolutely can. Don’t ever forget it.