As children, there’s plenty that scares us: monsters under the bed, getting in trouble at school, bullies. Then, as we get older, these things don’t scare us anymore.
Instead, other things take their place. We doubt ourselves; that we’re good enough or pretty enough or smart enough. If we’re honest with ourselves, the list can get pretty long.
Now, imagine all those insecurities disappearing into thin air. What can you do and achieve if you weren’t afraid?
This is one of the most important questions you’ll ever ask yourself. It’s also one of the toughest. Truth be told, you might even like some of the answers you get. But it has to be done.
Let’s talk about not being afraid to take risks and actually enjoy living.
Showcase Your True Potential
Think of it as a journey. Each step on this journey brings you closer to your goals and ambitions.
The deeper you go, the better you’ll understand and appreciate who you are. Moreover, you’ll be able to come to surprising revelations about yourself. Maybe these can alter your life for the better and allow you to start living life the way you want it.
They’ll also allow you to highlight your talents and skills. You could’ve been afraid of rejection or failure to do so before. But, once you have confidence in yourself, it doesn’t matter whether you succeed or fail. What really matters is your trust in your abilities and that you can do anything you set your mind to.
Enjoy Being Confident
The problem is many of the things we fear are those we can never imagine doing. Since our minds can’t picture us doing it, we can never have the courage to go through with it. In other words, you have to play it out in your mind before you can have faith in your ability to do it.
This is referred to as a visualization technique where you see yourself achieving your goal and believing it can happen. It’s a technique used by therapists, trainers, and even business tycoons.
It’s one of the ways they boost their faith in their abilities. Knowing what needs to be done is easy. It’s having the self-assurance to get it done is what needs practice, resilience, and determination.
Once you have those things, your confidence will soar through the roof. Win or lose, you know you have what it takes to see it through.
Make Failure Your Friend
A major reason we stop trying new things as adults is because we’re afraid of failing. We stop challenging ourselves and trying new things. We’re afraid of what other people might think or that we’ll look like we don’t know what we’re doing.
Little by little, this fear becomes our default setting. That’s when we stop feeling alive.
So, if you aren’t afraid, one of the things you can do and achieve is to embrace failure. Rather than being intimidated by failure, turn it into a close friend. Use it to learn new things and grow on a personal and professional level.
Yes, it’s hard and scary. Some failures can be tough to deal with and may take longer to bounce back from. But it’s these life experiences that help you become better at what you do.
Learn from one of the best inventors of the modern age, Thomas Edison. He failed nearly 1,000 times when he was trying to come up with the idea of the light bulb. About his failures, he said, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.” pretty smart way of looking at it, don’t you think?
Push Your Limits
Michael Jordan said, “Limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.” Many times, that’s easier said than done.
The problem is we’re raised to believe there are certain things we can’t do. Maybe we’re led to believe we’re just not good enough or that we can’t learn a new skill. Many times, parents do this as a way of protecting their kids from life’s disappointments.
They probably justified what they were doing in their minds, telling themselves it’s for the best. Yet, their words and actions are what cause many of us to live in perpetual panic and anxiety. We get used to spending a lifetime being stifled in a snug, little comfort zone.
Your comfort zone may look nice from the inside. But take one step outside and you’ll realize how small and confining it is.
Pushing past your comfort zone means you can try new things and experience unique ideas. It can also allow you to come up with innovative breakthroughs that may take the world by storm.
Just imagine what our lives would be like if the Wright Brothers or Bill Gates had succumbed to their fears. We’d probably be living in a world more tedious, less modern, and way scarier.
