Soul-Fed Mama: Be Brave: Getting Past Fear To Do What You Want
Do one thing every day that scares you. - Eleanor Roosevelt
This spring I went to my first Zumba class. I’d been wanting to try it for a long time and I was already a member at a gym where they had classes 6 days a week, but I was so afraid to go to a class. I was afraid I’d look silly, or bump into people. I was afraid the workout was too intense for my not-in-shape self.When I happened to be at the gym while a Zumba class was in session I’d find myself tapping my foot to the beat of the music that pumped through the walls. I’d peek in the door and see everyone smiling and looking like they were having the time of their lives. I even noted that there was a huge range of body types and skill represented in the class.I was still afraid to go.Until one Saturday when I just decided to do it. I wanted to do this thing and I was going to do it. I dropped Bean off at the gym daycare, topped up my water bottle at the fountain and walked in to the Zumba room. The class filled in, the music started, and I danced.I was so busy learning the steps that first time that I didn’t even worry about how silly I looked. Honestly, most of us looked a little silly. It was a much more intense workout than I had done in a while, but I made it though the class and I left the room with a big silly grin on my face. I couldn’t wait to come back for my next class.This is what I’ve learned about fear: [Tweet "It takes far more energy to be afraid than to just do the thing I'm afraid of."]Sometimes fear is wise. It can protect us from doing unsafe things, like stepping off of cliffs, or getting in the way of a hungry lion. But when those dangers are metaphorical, fear is most often just holding us back.I read once that the root of the word “courage” is “cor” which is Latin for “heart.” I define bravery as acting from the heart. It is listening to those yearnings deep inside and acting on them. It is being in alignment with our moral code and acting on it, even when it is hard. Acting in spite of fear is opening your heart. It can make you vulnerable, but it can also free you.Stepping off the edge of the life I once knew was actually the best thing I’ve ever done. I was terrified, but I did it anyway. Being brave enough to leave my career, embrace motherhood and a new relationship was possibly the bravest thing I’ve ever done. And the most rewarding.Stepping in to your fear can be exhilarating, liberating, life-changing. What fear can you face down in your life right now?Here are some ideas:
- Ask for what you really want
- Say no to something.
- Say yes to something.
- Try something you might fail at.
Get even more ideas from this other 31 Days series of doing things that scare you.What can you do today that you have been afraid of doing so far?