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Fear Leads You to Your Teachings, Your Task, and Your Treasure (The 3T's)

These three quotes by spiritual Masters all have a connected message (the 3T's as I like to call them): That fear guides you to your teachings, your task, and your treasure. We hate fear. Worse still, we are afraid of fear: We fear fear.


Michel de Montaigne said that "A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears." So, why don't we do all we can to get rid of fear? Not so fast!



Secondly, fear has an evolutionary role, bearing gifts, as it may be the map to your teachings (what you still have to learn), your task (your divine calling), and your treasure (your transformation). Carl Gustav Jung said that "Neurosis is always a substitute for legitimate suffering." If we try to avoid fear and suffering it manifests in all forms of mental illness. The key to dealing with emotions, and that includes fear, is to feel them, and then surrender them: Let them go. Before you let them go, you may want to harvest gifts from them such as the 3T's.


Fear may be seen as a guide, or map, to your most important teachings, your task, and your treasure


The Universe is not designed to keep us comfortable. So we end up feeling disappointment, anger, jealousy, resentment, and fear. Sometimes it’s subtle; sometimes it’s overwhelming. But those feelings always find a way in. When those feelings get the best of us, it’s tempting to push them away. Some people even blame others for them. But what if those uncomfortable emotions are actually trying to help you? 


Your teachings

Buddhist Teacher and author Pema Chödrön wrote “Nothing ever goes away until it teaches us what we need to know.” She says that our says our difficult emotions are clues, lessons, or teachings.



The Universe sent us to Earth to evolve, and sends us lessons to help us along the way, sometimes as guidance in the forms of fear. Until we learn that lesson, the Universe will keep sending us those lessons. Your discomfort isn’t random — it’s a signal. It’s showing you exactly where you’re stuck. 


Chödrön continues, writing that “Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear… are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we’re holding back. They’re like messengers that tell us, with terrifying clarity, exactly where we’re stuck.” Difficult emotions feel awful, but they show us exactly where we need to work on ourselves. They shine a light on the places we’re holding back, even when we’d rather look away. Not facing our fears increases their potency. Fears grow into monsters in the dark. As Carl Jung wrote "What you resist, persists."


Most people treat feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, and fear as problems to solve or weaknesses to overcome. They try to push them away, ignore them, or drown them out with distractions. Before you feel and surrender fear, glean the lessons that it is trying to teach you. Fear may be a signal, or even an instruction for doing inner work. You can ignore it, bury it, or distract yourself (with addictions for example)— but it’ll resurface until you face it. Make fear conscious - dig it out of your subconscious mind, notice it, like a leaf floating by on a river, but don't try to suppress it. You are not the emotion, you are the one noticing it: The observer or the witness.


Fear is probably the clearest messenger of all. It’s the loudest messenger of them all because it speaks in survival terms. Your heart races, your stomach tightens, your mind spins. But most of the time, the fear isn’t about actual danger — it’s about perceived risk. The acronym FEAR is for 'False Evidence Appearing Real'. It has been proven that over 90 percent of our fears never come to pass. And there is no fear that has ever killed you, so you can handle it.


Paradoxically, fear often shows up when you’re getting close to the edge of something meaningful. The fear isn’t a stop sign — it’s a sign you’re on the right track. Fear is the language of the ego, and it starts screaming more loudly the closer you get to your true calling, as that signifies impending ego-death.


Chödrön’s point is that the discomfort is the doorway. If you sit with the feelings, you will hear the message beneath them. The discomfort isn’t punishment; it’s information. Fear is not there to sabotage you, it's there to guide you. When you stop treating fear like an enemy and start treating it like a messenger, it can become the space where light gets in. 


These teachings may inform your task.


Dr Carl Gustav Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist, father of analytical psychology, psychotherapist, spiritual Master, all round dude, and who is one of my favourite people in history (I would take him with me if I was stranded on a desert island) wrote that “Where your fear is, there is your task.” Jung thought fear points the way: Like a map. Fear comes from the unknown subconscious parts of ourselves. It’s like a signal, saying, “Pay attention here.” Jung linked fear to shadow work. The shadow holds parts of us we reject. Fear guards these areas. Confront fear to integrate the shadow. It’s one of the secrets to self-discovery, leading to the revealing of your task.


Jung believed our psyche seeks wholeness. Fear fragments us. It blocks our path. By confronting it, we heal. We integrate the shadow parts of ourselves. We reclaim lost power. Psychology experts use exposure therapy to help people overcome what holds them back. Gradual exposure to fear reduces anxiety. The task is clear: Face what you fear. and take action. Not all at once. Step by step. Bit by bit. Respond in your own time, never react.



Fear connects us all. Everyone has it. None of us are immune. Everyone battles it until they learn how to deal with it (see above). Your fear isn’t unique, but your response to it is. How you face it defines you. It is a call to action. Fear feeds on avoidance. It festers on suppression and denial.


Imagine life without fear: No challenges; no growth; no breakthroughs. Fear adds colour to your life: It keeps you alive and evolving. I allow it to guide me. I let it transform me. Your fears are the areas you need to explore. They represent a task that demands your attention. Running away from them keeps you stuck. Facing them allows transformation. Each step into fear makes the next time you feel fear easier.


What are you afraid of right now? That task is waiting. Your fear shows you the way. Jung says to follow it. Face it. Step through it. I have. I have no regrets. The more we avoid fear, the stronger it becomes. The task grows bigger and more intimidating. Action is the antidote.


The question is: What’s your task? Where do your fears point? What’s your hidden task? Fear of abandonment? The task is self-acceptance. It’s to explore why rejection holds so much power over you. What does it reveal about your need for external validation? Your task. And in completing it, you become whole. Facing fear is how you understand its origin. It’s about being curious, not terrified. Jung’s quote is more than wisdom. Fear leads to your greatest tasks. They lead to your true Self. What seems scary is often an opportunity in disguise. Your wholeness allows you to execute your divine purpose. Fear is not to be feared but understood. It is a key. It opens the doors to self-discovery, growth, and healing. But start small. Start with awareness of the fear. Where does fear show up in your life? Recognise it. Examine it. Feel it. Transform that fear into strength and courage first. And then act. Fear, when understood, becomes your ally, not your enemy.


Your task will lead you to your treasure.


Your treasure

Joseph Campbell, American writer and the author of 'The Hero's Journey', wrote that “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek... Where you stumble, there lies your treasure. The very cave you are afraid to enter turns out to be the source of what you are looking for. The damned thing in the cave, that was so dreaded, has become the centre.”


By that, I don't mean a pile of gold necessarily, rather something that you need but have so far not achieved. Your treasure is the Grace that you receive for carrying out your calling. Your Grace is your transformation to be the highest version of you, into your true BEing; and from that, everything you do, then have, will flow into your life.


So, the 3T's - teaching, task, and treasure are about what you need to learn about who you BE.


For my full article on fear, click here:


Namaste.


Sending you love, light, and blessings brothers.


Olly


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Hello,

I am delighted and enchanted to meet you. I coach men with 'Deep Coaching', 'Supercoaching', and Transformative Life Coaching (TLC). Thank you for reading this far. I very much look forward to connecting with the highest version of you, to seeing your highest possibility, and to our conversations. Please do contact me via my email for a free connection call and a free experience of coaching on Zoom or in person. 


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