“It’s okay to be scared,”
He said it to me while we were hiking on an off beaten over grown, wet steep trail with his new puppy. My foot had just slipped off a rock. His offhand, yet supportive comment seeped in and I felt released. It was okay to be scared, we were going to do it anyway, but it was okay to have feelings about it. There was something extremely powerful in the permission he was giving me. I am sure he does not even remember saying it.
There is a lot of shame around fear. There is so much to be afraid of….failure, not being enough, rejection, pubic speaking, heights, monsters…Whatever you are doing, wherever you are in life, it is okay to be scared, especially when you’re slipping. None of us can predict the way this or that may unfold or what furry thing really waits for us under the bed, so there really isn’t reason to be ashamed. We aren’t alone. When you give yourself permission, the fear begins to fade, and movement can begin.
The whole point isn’t not to be afraid. I don’t know how to tell someone to do that. It is okay if you can’t “just get over it.” However, I encourage you to move through it. Don’t let fear paralyze you or hold you back. Surround yourself with encouraging, supportive people. Seek out a coach, a trainer, or an instructor in an area you would like to move through. Whether your fear exists around your current job, your health, relationships, a skill you have always meant to learn, or another area in your life move your thoughts and actions around the subject in a positive direction. Stay with the forward momentum. Many times, the other side of scary isn’t so bad after all… most often the other side of scary holds growth, success, and accomplishment.
“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten. ”
Advice I Give Myself 