Fear is one powerful force that is shaping the human behavior. A lot of people do not reach their full potential because they let fear convince them to stay where they are. Fear has been a major cause of missed opportunities, wrong decisions made out of comfort, and regrets that linger longer than failure ever would. It's my story.
My experience made me define fear as "being comfortable with what already works, seeing clear room for improvement, but holding back because stepping forward might be uncomfortable or might lead to failure. While there is the fear of death, sickness, poverty, or rejection, my biggest fear has got to be of failing.
I used to have and I still have the kind of fear that whispers, “What if you try and it doesn’t work?” Overthinking everything, delaying actions, and sometimes choosing to do nothing at all. It's been years and this fear kept trying to keep me in the dark. Now that I think about it, I understand that it has been shutting me out of countless opportunities that could have changed my life.
I've been the kind that avoids taking bold steps because I fear getting it wrong. Staying in familiar spaces always felt safer, even when I'm aware that the safe spaces were limiting me. What I didn't allow myself to realize then was that avoiding failure was doing more damage to me.
The fear I have conquered and still conquering is the fear of showing up fully for myself.
My most defining fear moments I had was deciding to show up for what I’m building and what I’m choosing to believe in. Not like I had a sudden confidence, the fear was still there but I realized that strength meant acting even when fear is present. I gave myself permission to fail more with the understanding that each failure carries a lesson. I stopped waiting to feel “ready” and started taking small, imperfect steps. Like I've said, I didn't actually become fearless.
Over a week ago, I saw a video that helped reshape how my perspection of fear. One line stood out deeply from her words... Fear will always be there, it’s what you do while you’re afraid that shows whether you are strong or not. As simple as that truth may sound, it did hit me so hard and made me realized I have always been waiting for fear to disappear before acting.
Now, I choose to take action knowing that the fear is present. There are so much to achieve and the fear of failure is still there but the difference now is that fear no longer stops me from showing up. I am showing up for my goals, for my growth, and for the future that I want to build.
This action isn't a fast one, I just show up slowly but steadily but I make sure to keep moving regardless of the fear. If there’s one thing this journey is teaching, is that when you choose to move forward despite the fear, you discover a strength you didn’t know you had. That's why I feel I'm becoming stronger every single day now.
Images are from Imdb.