You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.
- Eleanor Roosevelt
Taking risks and having courage isn't easy. But sometimes those are the exact experiences that we need. As my girl Alicia Keys likes to say, "And the day came where the risk it took to remain tightly closed in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to bloom." (Which is actually a Anaïs Nin quote, sorry Alicia.)
Lately this is exactly how I have felt. I have felt crippled by my anxiety and terrified to step out on to the limbs that life has presented me. I have felt hounded by the "what-ifs" and the possibility of failure. More than once I have tried to convince myself that "it" isn't worth the heartache or to "wait a little longer," but I know that both of those messages come from fear, and what I need is courage.
There are a few things that give me courage. I like to call these my billets as I limb-walk my way though the choppy waters that are "life goals." My partner and family give me courage. My aspirations to build and achieve a beautiful life for my family give me courage. My goals and refusal to settle on to a life path that offers me no growth give me courage. My determination to not stay in the same place -- physically, mentally, emotionally, etc. -- give me courage.
These are the things I remember when I am staring into the maw of fear or self doubt. These are the things I carry with me each day as I set one foot in front of another, reaching for the things of my hopes and dreams. I remember the people I have around me, put on my best lion vibes, and I don't let it back me down. Sometimes it feels like a facade, and sometimes it is a facade, but the more I work my courage-muscles, the more they can do for me and the farther they can take me.
To me, that is so worth any moment of anxiety or fear. The things we can accomplish when we refuse to give fear the driver's seat are immeasurable and incomprehensible until we do just that.
So, give me your best lion roar, and let's get after those hopes and dreams.