To Live A Full Life, You Need To Stop Being So Afraid

There’s a lot of things to be afraid of in this world. I could write a whole article just listing all of my fears. But for the most part, those fears are either not so bad after all, or are never going to happen.

I’m petrified of first dates. I usually end up canceling on the poor guy before they get to my door because my hands are already shaking uncontrollably. But for the times when I actually do go through with the date, I’m usually pleasantly surprised. And most importantly, by the end of the night I feel proud of myself. Because I did something that I was scared of. And I survived.

It’s empowering as hell to dive into waters that you’re scared of. Because usually, you’ll swim anyway, without a struggle.

I’m scared of planes, scared of heartbreak, scared of losing my relatives, scared of dying a terrible death, but, what I’ve come to realize, is that worrying about these irrational thoughts takes me away from actually living.

These fears that we think and panic about constantly, are ruining what we have right now.

And what we have right now is the now.

If today was your last day on this earth, would you have wanted to spend it in a panic? Would you have wanted to spend it isolated from everyone you love, in fear of stepping outside?

The media likes to put all these fears in our heads. They like to make us freak out, and fear doing any other activity that isn’t just standing still. And while awful things to happen to amazing people all the time, and unjust tragedies happen all around the world, this shouldn’t stop you from living how you want to live. These tragedies should not stop you from living your life.

Your fears should not define who you are.

And I know awful things happen very second of the day, but thinking about that constantly will put a huge cloud over your life. Your mind will soon be burdened with anxiety about “what’s next?”, and your lungs will collapse from hyperventilation.

If you’re scared of planes, get on one and see what happens. If you’re scared of first dates, go on one tonight. If you’re scared of fire, pick up a match. Go run that marathon. Go up on that stage. And go move to a big city. Each time you do something you’re terribly afraid of, you will feel that rush of joy. A rush of pride. Because you survived. You did the impossible.

Please don’t let your fears keep you from living a great life. Don’t let the “what if’s?” control your mind.

Don’t continue running from the monsters that you only imagine are under your bed.

Stop pressing pause in your life. Start pressing play. No matter how scary it may seem, it’s better than not living at all.