Such an interesting thread. I read everybody's fears and I think "Me too! Me too!" , however at the same time, I think of all those fears like bars that have been put in our heads. "Older", "sloppy", "fat", "inappropriate", "too loud", "matronly", "cheap", "over-spender"... etc. At one point in our lives, we have heard these words and they stuck. They resonate in our heads when we look in the mirror before stepping out. These hurtful words exert some control over us! They influence what we choose to put on and more than this: restrict our actions.
It's awful to do or not do something because of the fear of something that is not real, that only exists in the fiction of our minds.
For example I share with nicoleb the fear of aging. And I also share her feeling of having to be more "conservative" because she is a mom. But isn't it another form of guilt? Guilt for having fun even if we have kids. As in: when you age, when you have kids, you shouldn't have fun anymore, because you don't count anymore.
But who knows what other people see, really, when they see us, and what thoughts go through their heads?
Don't take me wrong, the same words haunt me daily, and am grateful for sharing these fears in this thread. Because by writing them out and sharing them with others, already they have a little less power.
