Photo by Austin Neill on Unsplash
So, I did a thing. Which led to another thing, and then another, and then…you get the idea, right? Before I knew it, I had created unstoppable momentum & was blowing up my fears & insecurities like some kind of wild she-beast…
FEEL THE FEAR & DO IT ANYWAY
Okay, before I get to the first thing that I did, let’s rewind to the mother of all fear-busting things that I’ve done this year…deciding to retire. I hadn’t planned to do it for another 2 years…I’ve never invested or set up any type of retirement account…my husband is unable to return to work…I wasn’t yet ready to launch my coaching business…in other words, there literally probably couldn’t be a worse time to do it. However, as I explained in this post, there were some contract-related things that just made retirement the best most logical move for me to make.
Making such a bold & unplanned move that completely obliterated my comfort zone blazed the trail for me to continue to be an unapologetically bold & brazen little badass. Which leads me to the thing I did that has only supercharged my “feel the fear & do it anyway” mindset.
For the first time ever in my life, I went to a car dealership all by myself, traded in my Jeep (she was having issues, hence the need for a new vehicle) & got an excellent deal not only on the trade-in, but also on the lease for the new vehicle. I’d been putting it off repeatedly for months for no reason other than fear.
Fear of the unknown. Fear of looking stupid. Fear.
So one morning I had quite simply had enough of my own bullshit. Seriously, there’s only so much research a girl can do on vehicle leasing, amirite? I immediately got dressed & left for the dealership before my brain had time to bitch about it. I rolled into that dealership like I owned the place (you know, the old fake it ’til you make it thing) & I straight up said, “Do not lie to me. I will research the hell out of everything you say, & if I find out you lied, I’m out.” Needless to say, since I already said it, I walked out of there with an excellent lease deal on the first brand new vehicle I’ve ever owned.
I looked Fear dead in the eye, said screw you & pushed right through it. So who’s the badass now?
Me on the actual afternoon of my last day of school ever, contemplating all of the badassery I’ll be getting into…
The bold moves only continued from there…I’ve had a very difficult conversation I’d been putting off, like forever, without sugarcoating or leaving out the ugly stuff. I took zero shit from 2 different people who thought it was a good idea to try to give me shit. I walked out the middle school doors for the last time ever without freaking the f*ck out & I started coaching practice clients just a few days after school ended. I now feel pretty much invincible. Like a total badass who can do absolutely anything she decides to do. I, my friends, have discovered exactly what is on the other side of fear…
Freedom. Confidence. Success. Joy. Badassery.
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF FEAR~DIRECTIONS FOR GETTING THERE
For sure you aren’t gonna find directions to the other side of fear on Google Maps. So, allow me to share the directions with you. There’s no secret strategy or hidden path for getting to the other side of fear. This is also probably nothing you haven’t heard before. The difference is, I can tell you with 100% certainty that it works:
“Feel the fear, face the fear & then just f*cking do it.”
No, I’m not being trite. It really is that simple. And that difficult. The pain of not doing the thing has to be greater then the imagined pain of actually doing the thing. What matters here is not your actual ability to succeed, but your belief in your ability to succeed.
Remember fake it ’til you make it? Ya, do that. I wrote more about that idea in my “How To Live Like Your Future Self” post. You have to believe that you are the person who can do the thing. You have to believe that if it doesn’t work out as planned, it’s not a failure, it’s a learning experience…and then be the person that tries again.
I can promise you this…once you do the big scary thing, then the next big scary thing won’t be quite so scary. Your confidence grows, you build momentum, and before you know it you’re the badass wild she-beast you always knew you were meant to be.
THE LINK UPS
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