How to Take Action Against Fear
Dictionary
Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more
Fear
noun
- an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.
Fear is a strange thing, isn’t it? Think about it for a minute here… a feeling concerning the outcome. The likelihood of something happening. Fear is caused by us worrying about something that not only has not happened BUT something that may not and most likely won’t ever happen! And it can actually paralyze us. Now, in hindsight, we can probably laugh at 99% of the possible outcomes we fretted over and feared, right? But, in the moment, when fear has us shuddering at the What Ifs and the You can’ts, it’s a terrifying feeling. But sometimes, we have to embrace the moment, take a leap of faith, and our entire world can change.
THE BEGINNING
Today marks a momentous occasion. Actually, May 9th did, but today is the day of my official “First Blog Post”. The decision to start a real, legit, .com ending blog was a long time in the making, but pushing that “Purchase” was the leap I needed to take to prove to myself that I was serious! To anyone who knows me, I’m full of ideas, but… ideas are just that, ideas, until acted upon. On any given day, I have at least 5 great ideas before my feet hit the floor in the morning. My brain gears are constantly turning, and they slow down for nothing. My problem lies therein, ideas come to me so quickly sometimes that I can’t grab a hold of them before they fade away into the morning fog, or take a backseat to my desire to run towards the smell wafting from my coffee pot.
THE [VAGUE] DREAM
For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to work for myself. This has taken many forms, which you will read about in another blog post… I’m an entrepreneur at heart, and I won’t stop until I succeed – this much I know! It’s hard to explain myself on this one, but all I can say is that I feel led to do something where I’m forging my own path, something to give my family financial freedom, to allow my husband to stay home with our family and watch our children grow, something I can say I built with my own hands and be proud of, something to please the Lord, something of value and meaning, something to help and inspire others and something I long for but cannot see the exact shape of. (Update:10:28:22: Over time this dream has taken on a lot more shape, gaps have been filled in, and I have a very clear vision of where this goes. This will make for a future blog post, very soon).
PARALYZING FEAR
For me, I’ve always been afraid of failure. The sort of fear that doesn’t just say “What if this doesn’t work out?”, but the type that elaborates. The type that says “What if you waste so many hours of your life on this, and absolutely nothing comes of it?” The type that whispers “You’re not as talented as her, you haven’t studied as hard as him, you are too lazy for this.” The kind of fear I’m talking about literally shouts “You’re taking time away from what’s really important, time that you could actually be productive, to follow your dreams [to nowhere] yet again!” If said fear doesn’t stop me dead in my tracks long before my dreams take form, it definitely creeps in while I try and develop what I’ve imagined into reality.
But that ends today. I went back and forth over this decision, second guessing myself and trying to figure out why I should “waste more money on my ‘next failure’”. Then it hit me. Not all at once, but over the course of several days while I was praying and searching for answers. You know how sometimes you can be looking for something, searching high and low, low and high, and after all the searching you finally see the item you were seeking – right in front of you? Well that’s how it was for me. Did that revelation make my decision any less scary? Was it suddenly easy for me to make that Jump and begin my own website? Nope. But, I realized that there will always be What ifs. The enemy of our soul wants us to give up and quit. The world wants to see us fail. Others who have come before us and failed – not only failed at achieving their dreams, but also failed at getting back up and trying again – expect nothing less from us.
IT’S OK TO BE AFRAID
All that said, fear can be a good thing, if recognized and harnessed correctly. Hesitation from fear can help us to think something through before making a rash decision. Be smart, be still, search yourself and see if this is the right path, here are some things to consider:
- Where did this idea/dream come from?
- How long have I wanted this? (Is this a new idea or something that’s been on your heart for awhile now?)
- Why do I want this?
- What am I so afraid of?
- Have I prayed about this? (I find bringing my decisions before the Lord really helps me clear out the brain fog and see more clearly.)
- What is holding me back?
- What is the worst that could happen?
JUST JUMP ALREADY!
It’s time to conquer your fear, friend. We have to remember that NOTHING is impossible if we believe, and if we want it bad enough! So, I ask you, do YOU want it bad enough? Do you want to reach that goal you’ve been longing for all your life, or do you want to sit on the sidelines and let life pass you by? Do you want to go out there and make your dream a reality, or do you want to give up, give in, and work for someone else building their dream instead? If you have something on your heart and don’t take action, there’s a very real chance that you will regret it one day.
The time is NOW folks.
The time to dream…
And, the time to act…
Finally, the time to SUCCEED!
“You Are One Decision Away from a Completely Different Life” – Mel Robbins
What are you waiting for? What’s holding you back? My answer is: myself. And, that ends today.
