Which Is Your Top Fear of Being Fully Present in the Moment?

Is it one of these?

1. To face the truth of where you are right now.
2. To be vulnerable—no more hiding in the past or future.
3. To be accountable for all our actions that led up to  this moment.
4. To face how much more work you still have to do to achieve our goal.
5. To change an attitude or belief in order to fully succeed.
6. Your anticipated future might be completely ungrounded. Your assumptions might be completely off-base.
7. There is no escape from what others think of you. You cannot stop them from judging.
8. There is no eternal security from successful yesterdays.
9. The present might demand more than what you are willing to give.

To be fully present in the moment can be a challenge for me, especially when facing the January Visa bill, cycling for the first time in months, or preparing for my upcoming recital.

But when I sit down and face them head on, an amazing thing starts to happen:

My fears (yes, all of the above) greatly subside when I take the first step towards success, however difficult and humbling. In fact, I found this week to be quite empowering.

Thankfully, each of the 9 fears below bestows an inner power when faced fully in the present:

1. You become grounded in truth when you fearlessly face the present and all of its challenges.
2. You gain a much greater sense of connection when you allow yourself to be vulnerable in performing.
3. To forgive yourself and others creates the first step toward a new and better future.
4. A great sense of clarity comes when you can see the whole picture, no matter how daunting.
5. When you admit “I don’t know how” with full openness, it gives intuition a chance to provide the solution.
6. You develop increased awareness and perception when you let go of a projected future and deal with just this moment in time.
7. As you free yourself from worrying about what people think of you and trying to please them, you develop a stronger, more magnetic presence.
8. When you look only to the moment for security, you find a contentment that is so much more than the humble word implies.
9. When you look within for the strength to face a new and greater challenge, you gain a dynamic sense of power from a source beyond.

I’ve spent my whole lifetime working on this, and still have a ways to go. But thankfully the benefits are becoming more and more evident.

This makes it so much easier to choose to be fully present, regardless of how challenging the moment might be.

Here’s what you can do to overcome the fear of a great challenge:

Inhale and tense your body, then throw the breath out and relax. Do this 3 times. Feel for complete relaxation throughout.

Do at least 3 rounds of measured count breathing:

1. Inhale to a count of 4, into the lower lungs
2. Hold for a count of 4
3. Exhale for a count of 4

(you can vary the counts as you like, as long as the exhale is equal to or longer than the inhale)

Hold on to your centeredness and place your challenge in front of your mind. Continue to breathe deeply and slowly. As you begin to accept the challenge, keep your energy flowing upward.

With each small step that you take, keep your frustration at bay: maintain your calm center, breathe deeply, and keep your energy continuously flowing upward with an indomitable power of your will.

Whether in your music or your life, know that whatever energy you put out always adds to your eventual success.

A journey of 10,000 miles begins with a single step. – Lao Tzu