⚡️Learning to live fearlessly
⚡️Learning to live fearlessly
The choice is ours to make.
Do you avoid situations where you expect a negative outcome?
Often, we avoid facing a situation because we conjure an unpleasant outcome in our heads, and we listen to our fears. We create intricate stories in our heads about all the things that could go wrong, but when we finally face the situation, we realize that the outcome wasn’t as bad as what we had dreamed up, and the world didn’t end as a result.
More often than not, the outcome we dread can turn out to be surprisingly good, and a feeling of relief rushes to help us forget all the worrying and stress we put ourselves through.
Yes, sometimes our worrying is well-founded, but our worrying isn’t going to change an outcome and make it go our way either, so instead of avoiding the discomfort, what if we faced our fears, worries, and anxieties head-on?
What if we confronted our fears head-on at the very moment they surfaced and were able to move on with our lives instead of hauling the worry around with us for days on end and maybe even years? Imagine the amount of mental space we would save and instead use it for more productive and creative efforts.
My personal experience with fear
I’ll give you an example from my own experience because this is a challenge for me too. I had recently completed a project and knew that I would be receiving feedback from the project lead on my performance any day. I was dreading receiving the feedback, and every time I thought about it, I would start worrying.
The day finally arrived. I got the email notifying me about the feedback I had received, which made the sirens go off in my head and made my throat dry as a desert. Mind you; this was only the response to the email letting me know about the feedback and not the actual feedback itself; talk about being anxious, yikes!
After a few days of avoiding the email like the plague and remembering that I had intended to live fearlessly, I realized that this was not how I wanted to approach life. I needed to face my fears head-on and finally read the feedback. I couldn’t keep avoiding it, mainly because I knew just how beneficial feedback could be for us. What’s the worst that could happen? I get negative feedback, and then I know what I need to improve? Now that I think about it, that sounds pretty good.
As I read the feedback, I was pleasantly surprised that I had received kind words of support and encouragement, so the feedback was good and not at all what I was dreading it to be. All my worrying was a waste of energy. I held on to negative thoughts taking up space in my head, weighing me down.
The Take-Away
We need to confront our fears head-on. Instead of living in a state of fear and worry about what could happen, we need to take charge and live fearlessly so that fear does not stop us from living our lives to the fullest. Fear will always be with us but we have the option to not listen to it so it loses its grip on us.
Take action today:
As you go about your day, notice when you feel anxious about taking an action.
Pause for a moment and think about why you’re feeling this way.
If this is a situation you usually avoid and put off, then instead of giving in to that feeling, try taking that action anyway and see how it goes; you just might be surprised.
As you confront your fears and anxieties, you will face momentary discomfort but imagine how much lighter you will feel once you take action.
May you find the strength to live fearlessly.
Stay fearless! ✌🏽
How are you living fearlessly? I would love to learn how you face your fears.
Please share your thoughts in the comments. 👇🏽