What are you afraid of?
And I’m not talking about things like accidentally swallowing a spider in your sleep or falling over the ledge at the Grand Canyon. (Not that that crossed my mind while we were there….)I mean what are you actually afraid of?
I’m talking about the real stuff. The hard stuff. The stuff we let hold us back. We allow our fear of failure, rejection, vulnerability, change, embarrassment, and commitment to keep us from new experiences, relationships, opportunities, and growth.
Don’t get me wrong. We all want the good stuff. We may even work up the nerve to take steps towards what we want. With each small step forward, it’s like we’re climbing to the top of the high dive. And then – we have a choice to make. Jump? Or climb back down the ladder?
Are you ready to jump?
You might be standing at the top of that metaphorical high dive, staring at the pool below you. I’m not sure what it is you’re afraid to try, do, change, or say – but whatever it is – if you’re already at the top of the ladder, what’s keeping you from making the leap? Because fear isn’t a good enough reason.
We’ve allowed fear to hold us captive for far too long. (I know I have.) We’re afraid of looking silly, so we never try anything new. We’re afraid of what people will think, so we make every effort to be invisible. We’re afraid to fail so we don’t go for the promotion, submit the article, or take the risk. We’re afraid we’ll be rejected or hurt, so we close ourselves off to relationships. And we might feel safe….but we’re also stuck.
When we let fear make our decisions, we may be protected from failure, rejection, and embarrassment. BUT, we also miss all the good stuff. Growth. Love. Friendship. Opportunity. Change. Adventure.
You CAN do this.
Let’s be the kind of ladies who LEAP. Do the thing you’ve been wanting to do. (Yes, the thing that’s annoyingly nagging at the back of your mind right now. Do THAT.) We’re done backing down the ladder because we’re afraid. Because people are “looking.” Because we might not get it exactly right.
We might belly flop. We might do a big splashy cannon ball. We probably won’t look like an Olympic diver so to speak. But, the point is – we’ll be in the pool, and off the board.
So take the risk. Have the conversation. Apply for the job. Start the project. Try something new. Break the habit. Start a new one. Whatever it is – you can do it. Let’s leap together.
