Many of my clients have managed to take the step: finding fulfillment in a new job, in a partnership, or through a change of location. Often, fear is the starting point.

What price do I have to pay for more coherence, self-determination, and freedom in my life? Inner peace also depends on external circumstances. However, our own fears often stand in the way of changing our everyday lives.

It takes a clear perspective to distinguish which risks are real and which fears stem from our own psyche and early life experiences. Coping mechanisms that protected us as children are no longer appropriate when we are adults. However, they still want to be acknowledged as part of us, in order to understand and let go of them. Often, the old pain that they helped to suppress becomes apparent.

Every fear has a valid reason in the context in which it originated. The problem arises when we generalize it and apply it to situations that are actually quite different upon closer examination. However, fear operates unconsciously and can only be overcome when we become aware of the original context in which it arose and consciously feel the associated threat with the inner strength and distance of an adult, realizing that we can handle it today, that we are no longer defenseless against it, but have the resources to integrate the emotions associated with it.

Then, the fear can dissipate. Its defense mechanism is no longer needed, and the path becomes clear to see the situation without distortion and make the right decisions that truly align with the present moment.

I am grateful to witness how much becomes possible in many cases, which seemed unthinkable before: a new place to live by the sea, stepping out of unemployment or even into self-employment, reconciliation with one’s own children, a fulfilling partnership that aligns with one’s needs and conditioning.

The path to overcoming fear is paradoxically a path of emotional acceptance and awareness of it. The more we can say yes to the fears of our inner child, the more we create a space within it where trust can develop and the fears are no longer necessary. This is how change becomes possible. Both internally and externally.