The F Word
Fear is the vicious, snarling wolf who sneaks up behind you in the middle of the night. You feel hot breath on the back of your neck, feel drool drip slowly down your sweaty neck and you know you are just one wrong move away from certain death.
But are you really?
What if fear is just there trying to protect you and by default, makes you play small? Whispering in your ear that you are not good enough, smart enough, clever enough to do whatever you dream of doing.
“It’s been done before, you are so last year.”
“Who do you think YOU are to do that?”
“Why would anyone want to listen to the likes of YOU?”
And you shrink back onto the couch, thinking that perhaps wolf is right. I mean, it sounds legit, right?
“Exactly” cries wolf, “stay here with me and you won’t have to embarrass yourself, sharing your crazy dreams, failing at whatever you try.”
“There are so many smart, talented, exceptional people out there – who are you to be running with them after all?”
But actually, who are you NOT to be? You have a special something that only YOU can bring to the world. Your perspective, your ideas, your input matters.
The more you pat wolf on the head and thank it for trying to keep you safe, then turn and march bravely out the door to chase your dreams, the more wolf stops snarling and starts to curl up into a contented ball at your feet.
The more you do things that scare you, the braver you become. It’s the great oxymoron of being human.
If someone asks me to do something that makes me feel slightly ill and overwhelmed, I say yes. My head spins a little and my skin tingles at the very idea. As the deadline looms closer, I start sweating and wolf comes to remind me that it is smarter to stay safe, smarter to come up with an excuse.
My family know the drill well by now, I complain, I stress, I freak out.
And then I just do it. And every.single.time I love it, I walk away feeling energised and inspired. And wolf curls up for an afternoon nap at my feet.
The next time someone asks you to do something that scares you, say yes. Go for it.
Every day, do something that scares you just a little.
It might be as small as picking up the phone and making that call to a local estate agent, taking a long hard look at your finances, heading off to view a property for the first time. It might be as big as delivering a keynote address to thousands of people or bungee jumping at Bloukrans.
Whatever scares you, just face it. And watch your world expand exponentially.
