feel the fear and do it anyway..

So this weekend I found myself surrounded by many different people at the Martial Arts/ Healthy Living Expo. As I walked round the many different stalls, I stumbled across a woman presenting a lecture on fear and how easy it can be for fear to completely take over our lives.

This got me thinking... 


From the stereotypical fears, to the personal ones, we all tend to be scared of something. 
Whether that be spiders, flying etc or more personal deep-rooted, personal fears. 

I often hear people say they are worried about starting a diet because they are worried about what people might say. Or I hear people say they are worried about joining a gym in case people laugh, or they aren't any good, or they might feel uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, we seem to be very good at talking ourselves out of something that could potentially not go smoothly, and the very idea that something positive may happen its completely overwhelmed by the possibility of humiliation or failure. 

I find the human mind fascinating. It is the most powerful yet the most self-destructive personal tool in someone's life, and what's often standing between someone and their goal is inner determination and willingness to face the potential of failure.

I was once a person who feared failure. As a teenager I always wanted to do well academically, and the very idea of failing in school just wasn't an option for me. I pushed and pushed to achieve results but at the cost of a lot of time stressing and worrying -  time that I cannot get back and often wish I had spent enjoying myself instead. This very fear of failure was then passed on the way I viewed my body. For years I tricked myself into believing I would never be able to achieve my dream body so 'whats the point in even trying.' 

My ability to talk myself out of changing my life for so many years is worrying, and I often wonder where I'd be if I'd started sooner, but rather than dwell on the what ifs, I now look into not fearing failure, but fearing regret of never giving it a shot. 

Instead of never picking up heavy weights for fear of being unable to lift them, I keep trying to make steady progress each week, giving everything a go, knowing eventually I'll get there and keep lifting heavier. If I can't lift a certain weight have I failed? of course not, I have given it a go and turned that situation into a challenge to return to and eventually win.

I also take this fear of regret into my personal life, I no longer fear failure because I know I will do my very best to try and achieve all the dreams I have drafted over the last few years and even if I don't achieve them, I hope I can sit back and know that I tried my best. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is, yes we all have worries and fears, but feel the fear and do it anyway! Use it as motivation and smash your own targets in the face. Don't talk yourself out of things because the only one that can make it happen is you. The best things happen when you step out your comfort zone and reach for things that you may think are out your reach, but may turn out to be so much closer than you think. 

Don't fear failure, fear the regret of never knowing how great you could be.