How Courage Can Help You Face Your Fears

How-Courage-Can-Help-You-Face-Your-Fears-

Dear Courageous One,

I know you have a secret dream, something bigger and bolder, something more precious, than you are attempting in your life right now.

Maybe it means making a huge change — a move, a relationship transition, a journey, an exodus from your social circle. Maybe it means allowing your creative soul — the writer, painter, chef, photographer, teacher — to blossom, to share her take on the world with those desperate for a slice of beauty. Maybe it means sticking up for yourself, forgiving yourself, loving yourself on such unconditional terms that the idea scares you off before you even begin.

What are you afraid of, my love?

Are you scared that you will fail?

Scared that you’ll make a public declaration and then come up short? That you’ll trip at the very top of those bright golden stairs you’ve climbed towards your dream and land back at the bottom, beaten up and beaten down?

Are you scared that you will succeed?

Scared that you will transform your life in such a tectonic-plate-shifting jolt that those who love you won’t recognize you? That you’ll outgrow the very people who have allowed you to take the leap? That your inner values won’t align with the new, bigger, brighter self you’ve created?

Are you scared that you’ll make the wrong choice?

Scared that years worth of effort and change and risk-taking will lead you in a circle, back to this same state of boredom or frustration, still chasing that elusive north star of fulfillment? That the instant you choose — make the big move, embark on the hard conversation, leave the job, ditch the partner — you’ll suddenly regret it? That you’ll long for the old you with your old life, the gentle discontent that may be numbing, but is at least familiar?

I wish I could promise you that your fears will never come to light.

I wish I could promise that you are safe from discomfort, that your journey will be easy and fruitful, that your loved ones will support you every step of that way, that your choices will not hurt anyone and that you’ll experience the perfect level of success for you in each moment.

I really wish I could, sweet pea.

But this is life.

Real life.

And I’m going to venture a guess that at least one of your fears will probably come true.

Will your fear realized be as earth shattering as you imagine?

No. Your fears like to puff themselves up to hold you back.

Will your fear realized mean that you’ll regret making the move on your secret and sacred dream?

No. Even tiny whispers of ideas crave actualization for one precious moment, no matter the eventual outcome. You are more likely to regret the things you didn’t do than the things you did.

Will your fear realized throw you into a never-ending tailspin, unable to move on?

Hell no.

You are a capable woman and can handle what life throws at you. I say this without a doubt.

Understanding that your fears will not slay you is the motivation of forward movement.

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I know you want to be that woman who listened to her heart and took the chance.

You are that woman.

I know you want to be that woman who makes choices that allow her to be proud, choices that honor her strength, that allow for vulnerability, that set an aligned example for the other women in her life.

Listen to me — you are that woman.

You are that woman.

We are all scared. We are all fearful. The moment of choice is when you let your fear — your nervous edge, your butterflies, your sweating palms — help you. Help you take the leap. Help you put in the work. Help you have the scary conversation, make the call, write the story, leave the situation, draw the line.

Don’t let those fears paralyze you. They are common. They are normal. They are part of the experience. Each and everyone your heroes — the superstars, the gurus, the awarded, the multimillion dollar successes, the driven — know exactly how you’re feeling.

Live boldly, honey.