“Do something everyday that scares you.”
Okay so I can’t remember where I read this but I didn’t come up with this idea. No credit to my brilliance:-)
It is hard overcoming fears and putting yourself out there – raw and open. All masks down. All beautiful facets of yourself exposed. Guess what though? Once you face a fear you feel joy, empowerment, wildness and YOU! The real you that you are often told to keep in. How awesome to feel all of that at once because you did one thing. Trading in one thing for four things is a deal – a deal in life you can’t pass up.
Things that scare you are fears. They don’t have to be massive things that scare you. I’m not saying everyday you have to do something like zip lining, skydiving, confronting the person at work that you are convinced is out to get you or speaking in front of 600 people. Little fears are what I’m talking about with a massive fear peppered in.
What are things that scare you or make you feel uncomfortable? Make a list.
Here’s a few of mine:
- Doing things alone. Okay so I can mark that one off now after my #soloigo trip this year.
- Starting conversations with strangers.
- Dancing in front of others.
- Sharing my blog.
- Crowds.
- Wearing bright and fun colors. Small but it’s a reality to me.
So think of up to six things that scare you or make you feel uncomfortable. Like I said they don’t have to be extreme. If you can’t, I know I have issues thinking on the spot at times, take a few days. Use that little Notes app on your phone and label it – FEARS TO OVERCOME. Think about what you want to do but just can’t bring yourself to do it. On a sidebar let me give you a quick bit of knowledge I’ve gained from my quest to overcome fears. Fear is a tricky little devil that can change itself to survive in your brain. It’s the best player of hide and seek you can ever play with. Fear is determined to hide because if it hides you can’t face it. If you can’t face it you can’t beat it. It’s a cancer that hides and grows by the day. It will tear you down without you even knowing it.
My fear of wearing color isn’t something that paralyzes me but it’s something I work on doing but have to feel super confident on the days I wear it. It doesn’t scare me but does make me feel uncomfortable. Usually when I bring color in my life I immediately share with my friend Ashley who LOVES color. She gets excited for me – that’s how much overcoming my fear of color is a reality in my life. I need to try to wear it one day when I’m feeling low. It may just brighten up my day.
It takes courage and vulnerability to face your fears. You must be vulnerable to admit and say it out loud. That is courage in itself. It’s takes courage to look it square in the eye and say “Get the hell out. I’m done with you and stronger than you.” Courage will take you into battle and the strength that resides in all of us will lead you in winning the war.
Face a fear today. Maybe only two this week. Okay just one or at least take steps to fight that fear. It will take you more than once facing that fear in order to defeat it. Fears dig deep in and we have to dig them out.
What fear am I facing today? Wearing color! I bought these yesterday with my daughters approval. Even after my husband asked me if they were my Halloween pants I still wore them out the door with pride. Guess what? I got three compliments and did feel awesome.
Have a day of vulnerability and courage. You got this!
