Making Growth Choices Instead of Fear Choices

With open hands and steady heart, we choose to grow beyond fear

We all hope our choices move us toward growth and freedom—and not deeper into fear.

But here’s the catch: according to the Law of Attraction, like attracts like. The energy state we’re in when making a choice matters. If we make a decision that looks like growth—but we’re steeped in fear—it often leads to just what we were trying to avoid.

So how do you know which kind of choice you're making?

🌟 Growth Choices

Growth choices often arrive with a tingle of excitement. A quiet yes.
They may not be logical or fully planned—but they feel aligned.
There’s often a spontaneous, slightly hilarious quality to them:

“OK... I did it. Now what?” (Followed by laughter.)

A Personal Story

Years ago, I had just finished my doctoral degree at the University of Georgia. I assumed I’d stay in academia—maybe continue teaching at the Medical College of Georgia.

But I felt a clear nudge to do something different.
So I resigned my faculty position. A few weeks later, driving through Augusta, I saw a For Rent sign in a little storefront. Something in me lit up.

I pulled in, met the owner, looked around… and said,
“I’ll take it.”

Just like that—I had opened the first metaphysical store in Augusta, GA.

Workshops, music, books, energy healing, community… all of it flowed from that one growth choice.

😟 Fear Choices

Not long after, my husband Charlie and I made another growth choice: we bought land in the mountains of North Carolina.

But instead of trusting that choice, we panicked.

“We need money!” we told ourselves.
So we both found jobs we didn’t love—but they paid well. We worked hard, wore ourselves out… and were both eventually fired. (A first for us.)

Did we stop and reflect?
No—we found more jobs we didn’t love, and worked even harder.
And… yes, we were fired again.

Only then did we pause and remember the land.
We chose to return to our original path—and from that space of clarity, we built a labyrinth and opened Mountain Valley Center, which has now been thriving for over 30 years.

🔄 Fear vs. Growth Energy

Fear-based choices come from “What if…” thinking.
They’re heavy with dread, guilt, or sacrifice.
They often begin with “I should” or “I can’t change now.”

They can sound like:

• “I need to do this so others will approve of me.”

• “I’ve always done it this way—it’s too late to change.”

• “If I don’t take this job, I’ll fail.”

But here’s the truth:

No choice is truly bad—unless we refuse to grow from it.

Even the wrong job or the wrong relationship can show us what we no longer want to tolerate. Growth can emerge from any soil.

🌿 Tips for Making Growth Choices

• Pause. Breathe. Feel.
  Take 3 or 4 deep breaths before deciding anything.

• Ask: “Am I ready to make this choice now?”
  If not—wait. Let it settle. Let the answer rise.

• Notice the feeling.
  Does the choice bring lightness, relief, or excitement?
  Or tightness, tension, or dread?

• Distinguish excitement from anxiety.

  • Excitement brings expansive possibilities.

  • Fear imagines the worst.

• Trust the quiet knowing.
  If a calm voice inside says, “This is right for now,” that’s enough.

That’s a growth choice.
And it’s the most healing step you can take.

🔎