Don’t Let Fear Hold You Back
Have you ever wanted to get a new job, start a side business, or otherwise take your life in a new direction? It could even be something as simple as attending a conference or learning to do something new. If so, what’s holding you back?
If you’re like many of us, it’s fear.
It’s natural to experience some anxiety or nerves when you’re considering taking on something new. We’re wired to be more alert in unfamiliar situations. But that doesn’t mean you should let fear hold you back.
Take it as a sign
In fact, fear can be a sign that you really do want to do whatever it is you’re contemplating. So use it as an excuse to go ahead and get started. Sure, not every experience will be a great one — but most of the things you worry about will never happen anyway.
Of course, you should get training from an experienced person — and then follow the safety rules — if you’re going to try something that could be physically dangerous. And you should spend some time preparing if you’re planning to quit your job and strike out on your own.
But don’t spend too much time preparing for something that won’t literally kill you. You’ve got to take the leap. It’s called a leap of faith for a reason: you don’t wait until you have proof that everything will go perfectly.
Life doesn’t go perfectly; it goes interesting
I’ve done very few things that I expected to in life — but a whole lot of things that I don’t regret for a moment. I’ve quit jobs. I’ve moved to a foreign country with $20 in my pocket. I’ve spoken in front of large groups. I’ve sometimes wondered what the hell I was thinking, but I’ve been glad to have done them anyway.
If you’re not trying new things despite the doubts and fear, you’re not trying enough things. Don’t spend your life wishing.
Figure out what you’ve “always wanted to do” and go do it.
I’ll leave you with these quotes on regrets:
“Children show scars like medals. Lovers use them as a secrets to reveal. A scar is what happens when the word is made flesh.”
― Leonard Cohen, The Favorite Game
“People always say life is too short for regrets. But the truth is, it’s too long.”
― Sarah Addison Allen, The Peach Keeper
“To live without regrets is impossible. To regret not trying is the worst regret of all.”
― Gary Rudz
Fear can be such an obstacle in life. I have had it limit me in the past and all that has happened is more problems. We really need to tackle fear head on and send it away. That way we can think clearly and objectively about a situation and make a non emotional decision. It is a work in progress for me but it is coming.
Oh it really can, can’t it? But I can’t think of a single time where I finally DID try something I had been afraid of and regretted it.
I like this quote:
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela
That’s a good one too!
Life is all about finding your comfort zone and stepping outside it. Saying “yes” to opportunities even though they may scare you a bit. The biggest risk of all is doing nothing and living a life of mediocrity, in my opinion.
Thomas
And sometimes the things that scare you a bit turn out to be really fun :)
Thomas’s comment above really hit home – at times in my professional life, I felt like I was letting fear dictate my decisions and, thus, was living a mediocre life. Taking chances – and initiating change – can be terrifying, but if planned well, can also be exhilarating.
You know, I think fear-based living is the scariest thing of all. Much better to take chances and do the things you really want to do.