I'm afraid.
I'm afraid I'm not a good mother. I'm afraid I suck as a wife. I'm afraid I'm messing up my career. I'm afraid there are amazing places in the world I will never go. I'm afraid there are amazing people I may never meet.
The thing is, we all have fear.
I know in a letter about courage you don't expect to read that. You may be thinking, "I thought this chick had it all figured out." Well, I'm going to tell you the butt naked truth. Fear is a natural part of being alive. No matter how many mountains you climb, how many stages you perform on, how old and wise you become; there's always going to be something new. Something uncertain. Something that scares the shit out of you.
If you're waiting to completely get rid of fear before hitting the pedal in your life, you may never get out of the parking lot. You see, our comfort zones are tricky places. They're like warm, cozy covers on a snowy morning. They keep us small and in the dark. They convince us that this is how life was meant to be lived.
But I'm going to tell you the truth. Our comfort zones are where we go to die a slow death.
I speak from experience. I use to think fear was enough of a reason to slow down. Stop. Turn around. Then one day, I stood in my fear and moved forward anyway. Now, you thought you needed coffee to feel alive???
There's no greater rush. No rollercoaster. No sugary sweet. No reality TV show is going to bring your heart out of hibernation faster than feeling the trepidation of fear and moving the fuck forward. Excuse my language. I usually don't curse and there aren't many more curse words in this letter. But I wanted to shock you. I needed to get your attention so that you really hear me and don't just let your eyes glance over this page.
Because this page. These words. This letter can resurrect your courageous spirit.
I want you to know that you are the one you are waiting for. Everything you need to become everything you always thought you could be is living inside you at this very moment.
Let me reintroduce you to your greatness. You are it. You are the one. Take one step forward. Go in the direction of your biggest fear. Move. Then move again. The more you dive, the more courageous you'll become. And don't forget to love deeply. Others, of course. But mostly yourself.
What are you waiting for?
Take a leap.
(excerpted from Daily Dose of Crazy Courage, available on amazon.)
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