Happy Monday! Let’s start the week with a question I recently asked on our Facebook page:“What’s holding you back from success?”

The top answer? Fear!

Don’t you find it interesting so many people stand in their own way? Because this is such a hot issue, let’s take a minute to talk about fear… and how to move past it.

And this issue goes WAY beyond you! Younger generations experience unprecedented anxiety. As psychologist Robert Leahy points out: “The average high school kid today has the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950s.”

These statistics are literally crazy! So why are we all so afraid? Fear is a biological function telling your brain when you’re in physical danger. But, your brain often reacts the same way to emotional danger, as well.

Say you got picked last for kickball in grade school and went home feeling pretty hurt. Or you failed a test you thought you would ace. Your body remembers those experiences, and when faced with a similar circumstance again, your brain already prepares for impending hurt or tries to avoid it altogether.

But I learned something many years ago: What you feed, will flourish and what you neglect, will die.

So when you (along with the media, your friends and family) feed your fear, guess what grows? Fear! Fear keeping you from doing the things you’re supposed to do in life… fear affecting your ability to make decisions and reach your goals… fear killing your confidence and keeping you from taking risks and moving forward in your life.

I want you to think about a time when fear kept you from doing something. It could be as simple as not going on a roller coaster because you were scared, or not meeting new friends or going on a date because you were intimidated or maybe even, not taking your dream job because you were afraid you wouldn’t be able to do it.

Bottom line, as a man thinks, so he is. If you listen to those voices of “fear,” you will focus on those thoughts. And what you think, you speak; what you speak, you believe; and what you believe, you will receive.

With the ups and downs of the economy, fear on the television, online bullying and all the new sources feeding your fear in today’s world, no wonder younger generations have become increasingly less confident. Stop feeding your fears and break that generational inheritance you have passed – or will pass – on to your kids. And more importantly, allow yourself to live the life you were meant for!

Leave me your comments below on today’s message, then go ahead and share this with your friends and family! In reality, everyone deals with fear sometimes, so you can spread encouragement and hope!

And remember to join us today for The Dani Johnson Show, to gain more insights for your everyday life. You can find the show on your TV and radio or stream today’s show, right here on our website.

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In great faith,

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