Is Fear Holding You Back?
I didn’t realize until lately how fearful I truly am. Do you ever feel like you know yourself so well and then something happens and you figure out something new about yourself? Our own perceptions of ourselves are probably skewed. Maybe most people knew I was living in fear, and I was out in la-la land.
To be honest, I discovered that I was so fearful once I felt like I needed to start my own website and write inspiring content to encourage moms. I don’t think I would have done it if I didn’t feel like God was wanting me to. It’s scary being real and vulnerable with the cyber world. What are people going to think or say? But the most frightening part is when the people I know see what I’m creating. What will they think of what I write? Will they think of me differently?
If you haven’t guessed, I’m a people-pleaser by nature. Being a people-pleaser comes with a lot of benefits, but wedged in there are some major flaws. I care about what others think and sometimes so much so that I won’t be bold or daring. I can be paralyzed by fear, and give up before I even begin. But I don’t want to live like that anymore. I want to sieze the day (carpe diem) and live life to the fullest.
I can’t make a positive impact on the world if I am comfortable. My comfort zone is not where I want to stay.
I want to climb over that zone and be challenged to grow, and boy do I have a lot of growing to do. Writing posts and putting myself “out there” isn’t comfortable for me. I’ve never been one to be the center of attention.
One of our families values is being brave. We created a family mission statement based on what values we want to describe our family.
To be honest, most of my life I haven’t been very brave. I play it safe. I’ve never broken a bone or played a sport. When I was growing up, we were taught to use the cost-benefit analysis for any big or risky decision.
I’m now trying to live without fear and be brave. I want my children to be brave and overcome their fears, so I better practice what I preach.
Identity Shift:
Each morning I wait for Him to speak a phrase of how He sees me in my planner. It is my practical reminder that I can look at throughout the day. God knows me better than I know myself, and my identity shouldn’t be wrapped up in how the world sees me.
The next fear I’m going to tackle is to be on video. Yeah, that is super scary. I don’t like seeing myself on video, let alone posting it and sharing it with the world. But I know that my message is important and needs to be shared, even if it is terrifying in the process.
So please give me some grace as I step out of my comfort zone. I don’t want fear to rule my life or cheat me out of the good things in store for me. I’m sure that facing my fears head on will make me grow in new ways and give fear a smaller foothold in my life.
Are you struggling with fear too? Is fear holding you back? What can you do today to push fear off to the wayside and be brave? I’d love to hear your comments below.
I have been working on my fear lately with a few things. I know my life will be better after I work in these things. It is just scary right now.
That’s awesome Amy that you are working on tackling your fears!
One of my fears has held me captive for a lot of years. I have low self esteem and I fear never being good enough. So just recently I have decided to face this head on and say 1 positive thing about myself each day. It’s a slow process but I am getting there.
I love that you are rewriting your inner dialogue. What we tell ourselves is sooo important! Thanks for sharing and being so real and vulnerable! You are good enough!! Start believing it!
I have been doing a bible study on Fear. This blog has helped affirm I am on the right track. I have also been inspired to write Fear a letter letting it know that God always wins.
I love that idea! It’s pretty crazy how often the words ‘do not be afraid’ is in the Bible. We just need to believe it!