To anybody who has ever felt afraid:
The inner battle of following your dreams against your fears seems to be enduring. The truth is we live in constant fear. As Dr. Susan Jeffers says in her book Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, we never tell our loved ones to take risks, we tell them to be careful because we live in fear something might happen to them. We fear staying stagnant, but we also fear change. We fear we will run out of money, but when we have the money we self-sabotage by spending it. We fear we might not travel to our favorite destinations, but we also fear flying. We fear the plane will crash. The business will fail. We will get fired from our jobs. We fear things might not get as good and comfortable as they are now in the present, but we also fear we will never get to achieve our dreams. We fear dying, but we also fear not living. We fear we will not be able to handle what comes our way. We fear stepping out of our comfort zones. But you have proof you have conquered your fears throughout your life and gained so much. Every time you have risked losing, you ended up gaining a lot more on the other side. How many times have you walked into a scenario feeling nervous and you came out afterwards saying, “It wasn’t as bad as I thought”? So, what if it all goes right? What if it goes better than what you imagined? Your life can be transformed.
“But what if it goes wrong?” says that voice in your head, that inner critic. That voice is not even yours. You can probably hear crystal clear the voices of people who have judged you, so you have internalized it. How many times have you stopped yourself from doing something just because you feared rejection from others? It is not your voice. Next time you hear that voice in your head wondering if it will all go wrong, just know that there is also another voice begging you to hear it saying how great it is going to be. The last two years of my life have been filled with so many lessons on fear. I just shared a few. I had to step out of my comfort zone to learn them. To share an example with you, I used to tremble at the thought of public speaking - a common fear in many - now, because I gave myself the chance to try, I uncovered a newfound passion. I realized that facing your fears can become catalysts for uncovering new dreams, opportunities, skills, and passions. The more fears you face, the more opportunities you attract in your life.
If you fear the discomfort that will come with the unknown, know that it will only be temporary compared to everything you will gain - experiences, friendships, happiness, who knows what else? Allow yourself to wonder all the good that could happen in your life.
