A couple of weeks ago, Alla wanted so bad to kayak. I wasn’t really a fan of it since I’m not a good swimmer but I said yes anyway. An hour before we had to kayak, we were convincing someone to go and do the kayak as well. She didn’t want to because she was afraid and I found myself telling her, “Well I am too but I’ll do it anyway. I never have.”
It was at that moment when I realized that I’ve learned to tell my fears to shut the hell up, just for a few minutes. Let me tell you, those few minutes make a huge difference.
Shutting your fears up doesn’t mean that your fears disappear. They’re still there but they’re just quieter instead of constantly screaming in your head which in turn, paralyzes you.
But if you can just shut them up for a few minutes, the paralyzing effect dies down and your fear doesn’t seem that scary anymore.
In those few minutes, you can take action that helps you face and conquer your fear.
So I grabbed the oar, sat in that purple kayak with Alla and just started paddling my way. It was so amazing that when Alla, knowing I was afraid, asked if I we should head back, I said no. Not yet. I never saw the sea this way and I wanted to just bask in it.
I never knew that I’d love to kayak if I hadn’t shut my fears for a few minutes and took action.
It’s the same thing with every single fear we have. I feared the unknown, the uncertainty of leaving being employed and starting my own thing. There was that crucial few minutes when I shut this fear up and just said, let’s give it a try and here we are.
I wasn’t always like this and sometimes I still find myself giving in to my fears.
Just like any skill or habit, this takes practice. You will be rewiring your brain to shut your fears up and take action, instead of the automatic reaction of turning around and walking away.
I had to literally murmur this to myself, “Shut up, fear. I have things to do.” It helped a lot.
What do you fear? Big or small. No matter how trivial or silly you may think it is. Start there.
