Fear? Greatness?

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.' We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

This passage/quotation always speaks to me and makes me think.  We all have fears that we encounter, but do these fears really stem from the belief we are actually "powerful beyond measure" and not really inadequate?  I believe sometimes we are afraid to speak up, afraid to take the praise and acknowledgement from something good we have accomplished, because we do not want to stand out and are therefore afraid of being "the different one or the one that succeeded" where others may have fallen short.  To always be afraid and to always try and hide the light we have shining within us, will sooner or later make us shrink our talents every day, and therefore not achieve the greatness we have.  Instead, we all need to make a conscious effort to let the talents, the beauty, and the excellence we all possess to shine, we need to express ourselves the way God designed us.  I truly believe we all have the ability to embrace our inner self, to succeed, and to achieve all the greatness set before ourselves, but we have to believe we have those talents, and believe we are the greatness we wish to achieve and become. 

The first time I heard this passage I was told to write down goals and achievements, both short term and long term, which I could wake up every morning and see and then start my day thinking about those goals, what I need to do to achieve them, and how I want to go about each and every day to reach the potential and greatness I know is inside me.  Put goals up for yourself, on your mirror, a whiteboard, or anything you will see every morning.  Anything you will see to remind you how amazing you are, how talented you are, and how beautiful you are in everything you do.  These goals are daily reminders to be excellent and to let your excellence shine through, without hiding it and without being afraid of succeeding where others fall short.