Is this a belief we have to have?  Are there examples of times when people have learned quickly and easily?  From all accounts it’s a resounding yes.  If we study history, we find the best teachers have taught by example and with compassion and love.  If learning is always painful, people tend to avoid future learning opportunities.

 Why, then, have all these instances been deleted?  Perhaps it has to do with personal change, work, and the fear that seems to hold people back, that makes them blindly run along any route of escape in order not to face that uncertain time.  They don’t seem to realize that they will face that same test over and over in some form in life until they deal with it.  Perhaps it is what holds people back from facing their issues and taking the first step.

 Fear is usually felt in the gut.  Interestingly, this is also where excitement is usually felt and the difference in specific location between the two is about 1 ½ inches.  So, in the midst of feeling a kind of turmoil, we often don’t distinguish whether what we are actually facing is fear or excitement.  The feelings are very similar, one being negative, the other positive.

 So, the next time you are contemplating doing something totally new for you, it might be useful to think of how exciting it is to be doing something new, like going on an adventure or journey and looking forward to what new discoveries you can make and how your life will be enriched and how you can be more fully alive.  Rather than running from life, this is embracing life.

 Fear is only useful in that it alerts us to danger, but when it stays stuck in us, or we freeze up over insignificant things, then we have an excess amount of it from our past.  When we have no excess of fear, fear is like a passing wind - it alerts and is then gone so we can quickly and rationally think about what we need to do in the present situation.

   If a martial artist has an excess amount of fear or anger, he will freeze up or over-react, suffer from tunnel vision and be unable to think clearly.  The negative emotions get in the way.  It is not the negative emotions that help him function.  Rather it is her/his awareness and learning that helps a martial artist perform at his/her best.

 Clearing negative emotions from the past has a profound effect on learning.  One student I worked with (identity changed) had flunked Grade 8 and was going to flunk again.  We cleared his negative emotions of anger, fear, hurt, sadness, guilt and shame with Time Line Therapy® (itself a quick and gentle process).  Afterwards, his teachers reported he was doing better than ever, and he successfully completed Grade 8.

 So, too, we can perform at our best when negative emotions are out of our way.  We can think clearly and positively about what life is offering us, the many choices available and the things we can learn.  It’s like being able to look at life without blinders on, without the obstacles of negative emotions or limiting beliefs to obstruct our views or perceptions so we can move forward in our lives with excitement and enthusiasm.