Fear? Do it Anyway!

What would you do if you knew you could handle anything that came your way?

-If there was absolutely no fear of failure?

-If you had no fear of what others thought?

-If you felt completely sure of yourself & your capabilities?

In Dr. Susan Jeffers’ wonderful book, Feel the Fear & Do It Anyway, she wrote of the 5 truths about fear:

Truth 1 - Fear will never go away as long as I continue to grow

Truth 2 - The only way to get rid of the fear of doing something is to go out & do it.

Truth 3 - The only way to feel better about myself is to go out & do it.

Truth 4 - Not only am I going to experience fear when I'm on unfamiliar territory, so is everyone else.

Truth 5 – Pushing through fear is less frightening than living with the underlying fear that comes from the feeling of helplessness.”

Of course, we all have fears. Without some healthy fear, we’d be jumping off cliffs to our doom & touching hot stoves. But, at times, fear can be overwhelming & can prevent us from doing what is needed in our lives.

Take, for example, my fear of creatures in the water. Recently, I decided that I want to participate in a sprint triathlon. Part of accomplishing my goal includes a ¼ mile swim in open water. Unfortunately, I’ve always been very afraid of creepy, swimmy things living under water. Those slimy things brushing up against your legs are really scary! Yikes!!! OMG! I could just die!!! Oh, & what about the SHARKS?!?!

O.k., deep breath. This was supposed to be a blog about *OVERCOMING* fears.

We all experience fear. Unfortunately, the magic wand doesn’t work on fear. And, sitting with our fears, feeling helpless doesn’t seem to be the right answer either.

The truth is, 90% of what we worry about never happens. "I have known a great many troubles," said Mark Twain, "but most of them never happened."

So a lot of the energy & time we spend in fear is wasted. Why be miserable, when we can be happy?

The key may be to feel the fear & do the thing anyway. Courage is moving forward in the face of fear.

So, what’s the plan?

A few weeks ago, I decided to feel the fear & swim with the fishes anyway. I’d love to tell you that I swam bravely completing my ¼ mile without any panic. Actually, I only swam about 150 yards. There was some pretty significant panic involved. I set up some support systems (husband kayaking beside me, shore really close). I felt some success, but the fear remains.

I’ve not fully conquered this fear of swimmy, fishy things, but I’m on my way. Feeling the fear & moving forward – taking small steps in courage towards fearlessly swimming in open water feels scary, but good.

Instead of being paralyzed by my fear, I’m in action. Action is power!

In order to deal with our fears without becoming overwhelmed, we must take reasonable action.

Small steps & reasonable risks are great ways to overcome fear. Eleanor Roosevelt said it best, “do one thing every day that scares you.”

Are you putting off something, out of fear, that you should be doing?

Have you told yourself, “I can’t.”

Is it making you feel helpless? Overwhelmed?

What small step can you take right now to move you forward?

ACTION IS POWER.

Power over your fear feels great.

"Commit yourself to pushing through the fear & becoming more than you are at the present moment. The you that you could be is absolutely colossal!" - Susan Jeffers.

Move forward & have a wonderful week. Feel the fear & do it anyway! (but hey, stay safe & don’t get eaten by a shark.)

Kim