Melissa from Sugar Filled Emotions is a regular guest poster on my blog. He dad died in is sleep on Saturday night. Go to her blog and leave her some love because I am know she could really use it right now. Melissa know I always am here for you and love you!
“Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t – you are right.”
~ Henry Ford
For a long time I lived without taking any chances, rather than put myself in a position to fail. The thought of what others might say or think about me – when I failed – was enough to make my stomach hurt, and paralyze me. I have put aside many dreams out of fear of failure, and embarrassment. Fear controlled most – sometimes all – of my life. There is no joy in life when almost every aspect of it is controlled by fear.
Learning how to let go of fear has been difficult. As much as I hated being controlled by something that made me feel so bad, the thought of not having it around actually made me afraid. I had become comfortable with it and it was as if I was contemplating losing a part of myself. In a way I guess I was.
With the help of my counselor, I came up with a plan to help me let go of the thing – fear – that was having such a negative impact on my life. The beauty of it is how simple it is. All I do is ask myself “What is the worst thing that can happen?”
Identifying, measuring, and doing what I can to mitigate my risks allows me to put my fear aside and move forward. My plan boosts my confidence, and creates a handy reference tool when I start feeling overwhelmed.
I wish I could say I was always successful at working this plan, but I cannot. What I can say is I am getting better at it. There are fewer times when I feel overwhelmed by fear. I can also say that less of my life is controlled by fear, and I have hope that someday soon it will have no control over any aspect of my life.
I understand, and realize that there is always a chance that my dreams might come true. I know if they do not it is not the end of the world. In the end, the very fact that I pursued my dreams makes me a more interesting, and well rounded person.
