When Fear Shows Up Before the Breakthrough

In this honest episode I share a vulnerable moment of realizing that fear was quietly holding me back from stepping into my next level.

After experiencing a breakdown filled with doubt, nervous system reactions, and questions like “Who am I to do this?”, I began to recognize something deeper—fear often shows up right before growth.

From reaching out to bigger podcast guests to being asked to share my own story, opportunities were arriving… but my body was reacting with tightness, anxiety, and hesitation.

In this episode, I explore:

• How fear can show up in the body through nervous system responses                     • Why stepping outside your comfort zone can feel physically uncomfortable
 • The difference between intuition and fear
• Letting go of beliefs that say you're “not qualified”
• Learning to regulate your body so you can move forward instead of shrinking back
• Why we are all here to stop playing small and step into our light

I also share a preview of an upcoming grief series on the podcast and reflect on how every life experience—even the hard ones—can shape the voice we’re meant to share with the world.

If you've ever questioned your voice, your worth, or your readiness for something bigger, this episode is a reminder:

You can find me at:
https://www.instagram.com/cataton/
https://www.facebook.com/casey.taton/

You can find what sparks me at:
https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1AgeRtyojY/
https://www.instagram.com/lmbdcelebrations/

Music by: Jason and Ashley Scheufler
Artwork by:  https://www.instagram.com/graphx_ink/

Transcript

0:00

Do you ever get that feeling of tightness, unease? Maybe you're a little bit anxious. What if it's fear and fear is really stopping you in your life? Hey friends. Welcome to the Enter Spark podcast. I'm your host, Casey Caton. If you're looking to hear stories of transformation and personal growth, this podcast is for you. My guest and I will be sharing those sparking moments that has changed the mental living a more fulfilling authentic life. I'm so excited for you to hear each unique story. So sit back, relax, and let's get started. Hey, friend. Welcome back to the Enter Spark podcast. I'm your host, Casey Taton. First, I just wanna start by saying I'm so thankful that you all are listening, and I'm just so grateful for each and every one of you that take the time to send me feedback and tell me what you love. Tell me what resonated with you. You can even tell me what you didn't love. I appreciate it all, and it really matters to me. So thank you. I wanna get into a shower. Sprinkle on something that I've been coming up with. I wanna say coming up against it is what I would say is the feeling of fear. It was the feeling of fear. I. Had this ugly breakdown the other week, and I was like, why am I feeling like this? Why am I doing what I am doing? Why? It was just a pity party for myself. Let's be real. We all have those. I'll be the first one to say they're not pretty, they're ugly. And at that point, I know when I'm in that state, like I can't talk to anyone. I just need my space and my time to fill my feelings, cry it out, and then. Move on. And then sometimes it may take a day, a full day, and that's okay. But what I realized was, fear was coming up for me. Fear of, I had been recognized by someone, fear of, I had reached out to a person I think has a very successful podcast. Him and his wife have a successful podcast and coaching community and asked him to be on my podcast and fear crept in oh, my podcast is too small. And I actually even said that to him. Hey, I know I have a smaller podcast and I've heard you on Bigger podcast. And his responses is, no podcast is ever too small. I was like, oh my goodness, you're my person. Like he's gold. So I can't wait to have him on. I will tell you guys more about him later. But for now, I wanna tell you that my body was experiencing the fear. I could feel it in my body, the chest tightness, my voice. I see a natural doctor, and I was talking to him, and when I was explaining it, my voice will crack. And that's when I know that my body's resisting change. I can see the vision. I know we're going, and it's almost like I just. I'm gonna pause for a second. Just go back a second. I believe we all have these souls past where we all go on different journeys. We all experience different things for different reasons, and my journey has been, I have fought a lot of medical battles, a lot of dis ease in my body, and so I'm learning to regulate what's happening in my body. Tell my nervous system, it's okay. It's okay to move out of that state. It is okay to move forward in your life. It's okay to say I'm healthy and claim it and fully own it. When I'm coming up against these things, I know that my body is leveling up. It's ready to hit that next level. And I did. I was reaching out to people. I had someone reach out to me and ask them. If they could do a little thing on me, and my nervous system was like, oh my gosh, no, no. My full body tightness, chest tightness. I reached out to a friend and was like, I don't know what to tell these people. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to say. I even sent a scary message and asked someone to be on my podcast, like, what am I doing? And who am I? And after I had this big breakdown, of course I have an amazing friend that says. What do you mean? Why are you questioning all this? Why wouldn't you do that? Why wouldn't you ask that person? Like, why not? So I have the breakdown and then I come back to the realization of I am afraid of my own power. I'm afraid of stepping in to speaking my voice. I've been going to do a series on grief, and I've been pushing it off, and I was supposed to interview two people and they both canceled that week, and I was like, it's a sign. It's a sign. The universe doesn't want me to do this. It's a sign. Let me tell you what happened today. I was on a call with my mentor. One of the guests came up and we were talking about grief. And I was like, oh my goodness, this is a sign. When you open your eyes, the universe is really telling you, you should be talking about it. Everybody is going through grief in a different way. Everybody goes through grief. Everybody experiences grief and their life, and we all do it differently, and there's no right or wrong answer. And my body was pulling me back saying, no, you're not qualified. I don't even really know what qualified means, but somewhere in my brain was like, you're not qualified to do these things. And then I was like, who am I not to do these things? Who am I not To put my voice out there and share? I was given these gifts and these opportunities for a reason. So I just wanna tell you, if you're coming up against something or you're facing a fear. I ask you just to stop and just be like, what is this? Is this my fear? Is this a fear that's been put on me? Is this somebody else's fear? That's not even mine, that my body's just like taking on. Like, no, we don't have to carry other people's fear. We don't have to carry theirs. We can love them, but we do not have to carry their stuff. But take a moment and just pause and check in with your body and be like, huh, I wonder what my body's trying to tell me. Am I listening to it? Does this feel good to me? Because stepping outta your comfort zone feels a little bit scary. And so now that my brain has clicked and I'm like, oh, this feels a little bit scary, this is making me a little bit nervous. I'm getting a little bit sweaty. Ah, and I'm so freaking excited. All these opportunities are showing up for me. I opened my eyes. I've asked the questions. I've done the work, and it's here're in front of me. They're coming to me. Yes, I would be on your podcast. Yes, I would do this. The topic of grief came up. Lots of people resonated. Why am I holding myself back? Because somehow I was letting fear stop me, and fear is like the lowest vibration and we can get out of that vibration and work ourself, calm ourself down and tell us I don't belong here and worthy. I'm whole. I'm a masterpiece. I'm a piece of the master, and I am enough. As I am. So today I just wanna ask if you're coming up against something, look it in the eye, set with it. Get curious, am I safe? Is my body okay to do this? And stop holding yourself back because I was holding myself back and that's why I wanted to tell you about it. Now I have these eye-opening experiences and I was like, oh my goodness. God is telling me, go, Casey, go. The light is yours. Step into it. And my body's nervous system is no, that's okay. I'm sick. My throat will crack when I talk. I don't think so. No. We are done playing small. Friends, we are done playing small. We are here to make a difference. We get one life one, and every single one of us is here to leave a legacy behind. So what is your legacy gonna be and how are you going to get curious with fear this week? Or maybe anxiousness or maybe a feeling that's coming up for you, feel it, and then move on. Because you are the light and I see the light in everybody and it's so easy for me to see it. Everyone else except for to have a realization that I am the light too. I am the light. I am one. So I just wanna thank you all. The grief series is coming soon. I am actually interviewing someone this week on it. And I have more interviews lined up and we are gonna kick that off. But I just had to be real and honest. That fear was coming up in my body. Anxiousness was coming up, and I knew that I could get past it. And look what's on the other side. Things are already coming in for me. Opportunities are coming in, but I wasn't allowing them to, I was blocking myself. So step outta your way. Open those doors and see the light and feel the light. Friends. All right. I love you all so much. Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy the shower sprinkle, and I would love to hear your feedback. If you're facing something, reach out to me. It truly lights me up to get on a call with somebody and be like, huh, that's interesting that you feel that way. Yeah, I see that. Do you know what else I see in you?'cause I see so much good in so many people, so I just wanna share that. Thank you for tuning into another episode. I hope today's story inspired you to embrace your own journey of growth and change. Remember, transformation isn't always easy, but it's always worth it. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe. Share it with a friend, and leave a review. If you found something that sparked you in this episode and may spark a friend, I encourage you to go share with them. If you have your own story you would like to share, I would love to hear it. So please reach out to me. Until next time, friends, go have some fun and let those sparks lie.