Love or Fear: The Compass Within

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Before I make a choice, take a step, or say a word—
I ask myself the most important question I’ve ever learned to ask:

Is this coming from love, or fear?

Because that’s the truest compass I know.

If it’s coming from love—
It’s grounded, open, honest.
It’s my authentic self speaking.
It’s connection over control.
Presence over performance.

But if it’s coming from fear—
It’s tight, rushed, performative.
It’s the adapted self—the part of me trying to earn belonging, not embody it.
It’s safety over truth.
It’s survival dressed up as strategy.

And I’ve lived both.
I’ve acted from fear more times than I can count—
Fearing rejection, loss, abandonment, shame.
Trying to be good enough, pleasing enough, small enough to be accepted.

But love…
Love doesn’t beg to be chosen.
It doesn’t hustle to prove.
It simply is—rooted, quiet, clear.

So now, before I move, I ask:

Is this action a reflection of who I am,
or who I think I need to be?

Is this choice expanding me,
or shrinking me?

Is it love—or fear?

That single question has become the greatest teacher in my life.
Not a rulebook.
Not a doctrine.
But a compass.
A quiet check-in with the part of me that already knows the way.

And more often now, I choose love.
Not because it’s easier, but because it’s me.