Stepping into Fear

Fear is a theme that, over the last couple years of my life, keeps popping up again and again. I wrote about it extensively after my trip to the Amazon jungle where I finally pursued a venture I had wanted deeply for years, but had prevented myself from pursuing due to overwhelming fear.

Today I realized, as I was thinking about creating a project I have a lot of trepidation around, that the same fear I have become familiar with was creeping in, spilling doubt all over an idea I knew in my heart was a good one. I was driving along, thinking about this idea, sitting with this anxiety, when a very clear voice suddenly piped in — “You’re afraid? Hooray!!!! That means you’re on exactly the right path! Do it!” At that moment, the understanding around this became crystal clear: The thing you fear contains the exact element you need. Go get it.

I think somewhere in the recesses of our subconscious brain we know that pushing through fear is good for us, but breaking the habit of avoidance can be daunting… because it’s scary!

I took a moment to reflect back on how many things I have done in the last 3 years that scared the shit out of me… and there have been a LOT! But upon reflection, I see how each one of my past scary-as-hell ventures has led me directly to a place of heightened connectivity to my own spirit, each thing giving me deeper meaning to the life I was living at that moment and that continues to unfold for me now. With each fear-filled experience, I learned, I grew, I overcame. And mostly I realized that the buildup surrounding the event or experience was almost always worse than the experience itself.

One of my favorite quotes, which I remind myself of often, is:

“You only regret the things you don’t do.”

The chances you didn’t take. The opportunities you declined. The risks you avoided.

At this point in my life I am, by no means fearless, but I am learning that the trepidation and anxiety are really nothing but crappy wrapping paper surrounding a pretty phenomenal gift… but the gift might not (and probably won’t!) look like what you expected and the rewards may not be immediately apparent. But how will you find the real value if you don’t ever take that chance and look?

And that idea I’m thinking of? I’m moving forward with it despite how vulnerable it feels. And yes, I will happily share the fruits of my labor when they manifest… because they will.