Fear Isn’t the Enemy – The Script Is
How to Stop Shrinking and Start Showing Up
We’ve all done it: held our tongue when something inside screamed to speak up.
Not because we lacked ideas. Or talent.
But because fear whispered in a voice that cast doubt:
“You’re not ready.” “Don’t rock the boat.” “Who do you think you are?”
Here’s a potent truth I’ve learned over a decade of helping people shine on stages, in relationships, in careers:
Fear isn’t the enemy – it’s the invisible script that hijacks your voice.
In 2013, I co-authored “5 Steps to Thrive: Reveal Any Crisis as Opportunity.”
Back then, we thought crisis looked like financial loss, divorce, illness.
The chronic shrinking of self. We even lost our home and businesses.
Brilliant, visionary humans folding under the pressure to conform, stay safe, or sound “right.”
As a coach, speaker, and lifelong communication expert, I’ve seen it happen again and again – especially on stage:
· A woman with a bold idea suddenly loses her voice before a keynote
· A quiet creative drowns in self-editing pitching their project
· A leader holds back their real message, afraid it’s “too much”
They don’t need more polish or perfection.
They need a pattern interrupt.
They need to unscript the story that fear keeps repeating.
Fear has a job and that is to protect you from harm. But unexamined, it morphs into your voice’s jailer.
Here’s what I’ve found:
Most people aren’t afraid of visibility. They’re afraid of feeling unworthy.
So they over-give, over-perfect, over-prove, or disappear. It robs self-confidence.
Sound familiar?
That’s not you speaking.
It’s a script you’ve been unwittingly following.
In a few weeks, I’m releasing something I’ve been crafting and testing for months:
A quiz that helps you name the inner script blocking your expression.
It’s not just easy – it’s revealing.
It’s clarity. It’s pattern recognition.
It’s the start of your voice reclaim.
Because your real power isn’t being fearless.
It’s becoming unscripted and more confident in expressing yourself.
More soon. For now:
Take a deep breath.
Your truth is still there.
We’re just getting started.
- Carol
Anything that draws pattern recogniton into the conversation gets my immediate attention. I look forward to reading more about how you help people empower themselves.
Fear and failure have similar effects of dampening our freedom to express. Courage has been described as facing fear. In the warrior spirit, fear is placed at the tip of the sword, and also in determined action. Both fear and failure can catapult our growth. It's how we choose to respond that makes all the difference. One cannot learn balance without first loosing it and falling. Recognizing fear as a familiar response can lead us to new breakthroughs.