When was the last time you pushed past your fears?
Do you remember the joy of accomplishing something for the first time, something you believed you could never do?
The truth is, you have succeeded on thousands of “first” times. The first time you took a step, rode a bike, went out on a date, tried out for that team, drove a car.
Those don’t seem like events that had you push past your fears now because, at the time, they were exciting!
You couldn’t wait to get on that bike and show everyone that you could do it without training wheels, and you were so into that boy in high school that you would have done just about anything to go out on a date with him.
And the car….well, how cool were you!
So what happened?
As we became adults, that excitement to try new things and push past our limits turned into fear.
Fear that we couldn’t possibly do THAT.
Fear that we won’t be good enough to do it.
Fear of what other people will think.
Fear that someone else will do it better.
Fear of failure.
As adults, we let outside influences dictate what we think we are capable of. We listen to other’s voices instead of our own.
Fear keeps us playing small. It keeps us from being the best version of who we are meant to be.
A few years ago took a Leadership course that challenged me beyond what I thought I was capable of. One of the days involved a ropes course. I had never done a ropes course before and really didn’t know what to expect.
There were many elements to conquer that day, but the one that pushed me the most was climbing to the top of a telephone pole and jumping off.
Yes, jumping off.
As I stood at the bottom of the pole and looked up, I thought, “You have got to be kidding!”
I could feel the adrenaline and fear take over my body. My heart was racing and my palms were sweaty.
So, here’s the thing: I was in a harness. Nothing was going to happen to me. The ropes course facilitators were fabulous and had done this thousands of times with other people.
Yet, none of that mattered in the moment. I was so consumed with fear that I froze. I climbed to the top and didn’t see how I could possibly jump.
I was up there for what seemed like hours, and I was terrified!
One of the leaders who happens to also be one of my mentors said, “It’s time!”
Yes, it was.
Time for me to jump.
Time for me to push past my fears and trust in myself.
Time for me to let go of everything that was holding me back, not just that day, but in life.
I knew that if I could do this, I could do anything.
Freedom waits on the other side of fear.
Freedom to live fuller and take risks. Freedom to boldly be 100 percent YOU. Freedom of pride in yourself for accomplishing THAT thing that’s been holding you back.
Ask yourself, what is holding you back, AND what’s available on the other side?
Then, take a leap of faith.
Would love to hear your thoughts. Please leave your comments below.
