Day 4 - 31 Day Blog Challenge - What do I Fear?
What Do I Fear and How I Challenge Myself to Face My Fears.
Day 4 definitely felt more uncomfortable having to write about what I am afraid of. It is getting real on my blog since one of my fears was writing and doing a blog putting myself out and out of my comfort zone. Caring what others would think of me.
On top of the Empire State Building in New York City
Feeling vulnerable, I guess that is what this whole journey is about each day I challenge myself a little more and my focus turns inward on what I think rather than what others think of me. That is the most important thing to me I am realizing. I have many fears I could right a book, especially now that I have a daughter but I am gonna keep it honest and short as I can.
I am afraid of snakes, I think about that way to often for someone that is afraid of the. There was a time I couldn't look at a picture of snakes or would have to turn my head if one came on the TV. I even cried once when my cousin teased me with a toy snake. I catch myself on high alert looking for them when I'm in nature now. I really do want to get over this fear one day. Slowly but surely. I did face this fear once I pet an anaconda in a safe environment with The Reptile Guy in Hamilton, ON. Tears rolled down my cheeks as this insane feeling came over me. I almost felt in shock or frozen. I feel very proud of myself for touching a snake. I know a small amount of the fear did go away. I'm a sucker for punishment. LOLI am afraid of drowning and getting stuck under water mainly because I’m not a great swimmer. The fear of drowning is one I’m working on as I take my daughter to swimming lessons. I want her to enjoy, respect and appreciate water. So I am learning to slowly face this fear by becoming physically stronger in and out of the water. Small steps regularly go a long way when dealing with my fears. Taking action helps me always crush my fears. Not saying it’s easy, I put the work into it daily but I am totally worth it. The feeling of not feeling scared is an empowering feeling.
Bottom of La Fortuna Falls in Costa Rica
The perfectionist in me also has been extremely afraid of failing in the past. This was huge. I stopped myself from even attempting things I wanted to do because of the thought of failing. I look at it now and feels very silly because there is no such thing as perfect and everyone fails. Its our biggest teacher and we gain so much knowledge and experience each time we fail at something. I feel very grateful I have had this realization now rather than waking up with regrets when I'm older. Which brings me to my next fear
A big fear is having regrets one day waking up when I am older and realizing I didn’t live my life and didn't do what I wanted. Do what really set my heart on fire and fills it with joy. Fear is a crazy thing it’s here to protect us in one sense, in the face of danger but yet it can cripple us in fight/flight or freeze mode. I know I am my own worse enemy and feed into or create more fears. What I have learned by keep working on my inner self that fear is all in my head. My thoughts create and breath more life into fear. What I have started to do is pay attention to all my thoughts and journal. I also label the thought as they arise and just say "that's just fear talking". This brings awareness to me that its only a thought and there is no danger. Fear is a big one, I am constantly working on dismantling things that I realize I'm afraid of. I challenge myself regularly and sit in discomfort to push past the fears. This is not easy trust me. I don't like to sit in discomfort, however I know I push through it and everything keeps changing.
Sherry Fraser Photography - Photo credit
I’m amazed how wonderful it feels to face my fears. Challenge is not bad it helps me grow and become whole. I guess I used to really fear challenge and now I welcome it, befriend it and know life will have its challenges. Its what I do in the face of it and how I dance in the midst of challenge. That's the difference now I feel about fear. It's not as daunting when things scare me. I try to understand it and where its coming from rather than avoid or ignore it.
What are some things that you fear and how do you overcome these fears?