Very Important!

Written by: Dinelsa Morales, Ph. D., LMSW

Written for: Hispanic Family Counseling Inc. Newsletter May 2024 Edition

Fear is the most primitive emotion humans possess. Its job is to allow us to survive and protect us from threats. However, when we perceive this emotion, we consider bad, limiting, and negative.

I have learned that when I discover something new, I use the technique of changing perspective to better process what I have learned. When I learned that my emotion of fear does not come to limit me, but to help me, to warn me, and that it always has something to tell me, for this reason, I decided to transform its name to VERY IMPORTANT.

When I perceive a change, when I face a challenge, when the internal alarm goes off, I repeat to myself in my mind, something VERY IMPORTANT is happening. So, I stopped struggling with something I learned to feel negative and transformed it into my inner voice. That red flag, which although allows me to stop, I value it and listen to it carefully, waiting for instructions for the next step. Because that's what this great emotion is dedicated to, preparing the path for action.

Life confronts us every day with great struggles, and of course, we will feel fear. But remember these words, "when fear knocks on your door, SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT is happening." Listen to it, accept it, recognize it, and take the step that leads to the solution.