Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway

How many dreams do you have?

A better question: how many of your dreams have you tried to make a reality?

Much of the time, it’s easier to remain where we are than to risk moving — emotionally, physically, or mentally. We humans value consistency and comfort, and the idea of change isn’t always particularly appealing. In fact, change can often loom like a scary monster on our horizons, threatening us with the terrifying face of the unknown.

In spite of this, maybe your gut is urging you to push past your fear, and the discomfort that ensues is the stuff of internal battles. You feel it inwardly — the struggle between your common sense approach to life and the unrelenting gravity that pulls your heart in a totally new direction.

What if I take that job and I hate it? What if I travel to ____ alone and get lost or hurt? What if I move and regret the decision? What if I ask this person out and they reject me?

But really, in all of these circumstances (or in your own unique circumstance), would you be failing if you took these steps and things didn’t work out? Or would you have more to lose by not moving forward at all?

Fear is often a necessary response to life’s risks. Fear can keep us safe. But to let fear dictate the majority of decisions we make sets us up for a life of perpetual complacency, and complacency doesn’t challenge us to grow. Complacency, in fact, does the exact opposite, holding us in endless loops of boredom and numbness to the point where we just accept that this half-life is our reality. Anything else is simply too much of a risk. It’s simply too much work.

I’m sure you’ve heard by now that the best things in life come with the most risk. You will never know what you stand to gain if you don’t make a conscious effort to chase the majority of your dreams, or at least the ones you feel are achievable at this stage in your life. It will be far better to look back on your life someday and smile at the crazy memories you made trying something new than to have nothing at all to remember because you always lived in the confines of your comfort zone.

I’m challenging you today: allow yourself to feel afraid, but pursue the things that scare you regardless. Acknowledge that this new thing you’re considering might be uncomfortable, risky, or challenging at first, but know that it wouldn’t be on your heart if you weren’t meant to try it.

You never know what’s waiting for you on the other side of fear, and it might just be everything you’ve ever wanted.