I felt the call… and I almost didn’t answer

October 4, 2026

I Felt the Call. And I Almost Didn’t Answer.

I felt a desire to do something.

And I almost didn’t do it.

I knew there was a step I wanted to take. A step that required me to invest in myself, trust myself, and move forward without knowing exactly how things would turn out.

And I got caught in the web of fear again.

What if things don’t work out the way I planned?

What if I’ve made mistakes?

What if I lose what I’ve worked so hard to create?

And without even realizing it, I started to contract.

I pulled back. I stopped investing. I became cautious. I started looking outside myself for certainty before I was willing to move.

That’s how quickly it happens.

If you’re not paying attention, fear starts making your decisions for you.

Then I caught myself.

And I remembered:

I don’t want fear making my decisions.

So I’m choosing to move from trust, even when I can’t see the outcome.

And if you’re a woman navigating motherhood, I imagine you know this dance with fear well.

Because motherhood asks you to make decisions every day without knowing exactly how they’ll turn out.

Am I making the right choice?

Am I setting the right boundary?

Am I protecting too much? Not enough?

What if I get this wrong?

And when you’re afraid, it’s easy to start looking outside yourself for the answer.

What are the other mothers doing? What do the experts say? What does your own mother think? What does the culture tell you a “good mother” should do?

Somewhere in all that noise, you can lose access to your own voice.

And fear starts showing up in how you mother.

Maybe you control a little more.

Worry a little more.

Hold on a little tighter.

React instead of respond.

Try to manage an outcome that was never yours to control in the first place.

Your fear doesn’t only impact you. Your family feels it too and it often shows up as conflict, resistance and disconnection.

But you don’t have to become fearless.

You can notice when fear has taken the wheel and choose to come back to yourself.

Back to your own knowing.

Back to trust.

That’s where your power is.

When you’re connected to yourself, you’re more grounded. More present. You have more choice in how you respond instead of letting fear choose for you.

And from there, you create more space for connection, freedom, and for you and your family to thrive on your own terms.

No matter what is happening.

I believe this is part of what every woman who mothers is being called to do.

So here’s the question I’ll offer you:

Where is fear getting in the way right now?

Is there a difficult decision you’re afraid might hurt someone you love?

Is there a choice you feel called toward but are afraid might not work out?

Are you being invited to hold a boundary that feels hard to hold?

What might you do if you weren’t afraid?

You don’t need to know how it all turns out.

You just need enough courage to trust yourself with the next step.

in trust and gratitude,

Annmarie Chereso
Author, Speaker, Coach, & Meditation Teacher

P.S. If you want to go deeper into how fear shows up in your relationships and your family, and what it costs when fear is the one choosing, my Transform Conflict to Connection masterclass is a beautiful place to start.