Stop Being Afraid!
And Own Your Damn Life
What's keeping you from your dream life?
Let me answer this for you. You! You are the one keeping yourself from achieving greatness. And you are doing that by being afraid.
Fear is the reason you are missing out on big opportunities.
We are constantly living in a firm hold of fear:
You may be afraid to start something new. You have maybe done some research and found out that it is risky and that there are a lot of variables to control. Maybe you are like me, you keep postponing the start because you want to read some book or watch some videos to know more about the subject and to perfect the plan. Or you are just waiting for the right moment to start.
You may be afraid of asking whether it is a simple question, for a favor, or for help. You may be thinking that asking for something is a weakness. Let me tell you something it takes courage to ask. If you ask for information it shows how committed you are to learning something new.
You can also be afraid to put in the necessary work. It takes commitment and hard work to achieve things. Nothing comes easy. You have to work your ass up to succeed. And maybe sometimes when you think of all the hard work you have to commit to and do you get overwhelmed. It’s normal it happens to all of us. But the only way to conquer this particular fear is to do the very thing you are afraid of. You start working. It doesn’t necessarily become easier but you get used to it.
Fear of what people think of you. Remember what people think of you does not define who you are. And certainly, you are not entitled to their opinions.
Or is it the fear of failure that stops you from even trying? You know in this world there are two ways of learning new things either by studying it like reading books or by trial and failure. Believe me, you will learn more by trial and failure than you’ll ever do by just reading.
I don’t know about you, but I sometimes get afraid of success. It is more overwhelming than failure. I don’t know how to put it into words, but success comes with a lot of expectations and engagement. Failure, on the other hand, is easy to get by and forget.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.” - Marianne Williamson
I have recently learned that there is absolutely no limit to what we can do as human beings. We are the ones on the sail, the masters of our seas. We are the ones that define the term impossible.
Let me share a personal story with you. Four years ago, I used to be a heavy smoker. I didn't do any exercise, walking up one flight of stairs will leave me breathless.
If you'd ask me then about running a marathon I'd say you were on drugs and that there is no version of me in the metaverse that could do that. I was thinking I would die by the age of 40 with a heart stroke from all the cigarettes I've been smoking. But I always entertained the idea of quitting smoking. I only thought about it. I was always overwhelmed with the idea of starting, of putting out my last cigarette, of all the work I would have to do, the commitment to never light another cigarette, and the pressure I would feel if I succeeded because I would have to keep my commitment forever. Forever, that term puts the fear of GOD in me.
But I eventually got the necessary courage to overcome my fears and work my way through smoke quitting. One year later I stopped smoking and started running a few months later. A year after I stopped smoking I ran my first 10k and I did it in 1 hour and 10 minutes. I arrived last in the race. Five months after that, I ran back-to-back half marathons. My pace was a bit slow but I ran 21km non-stop and that was a huge achievement.
To celebrate my 2 years smoke-free I run a marathon in 4h45 minutes.
Last month I ran my second marathon in 3h47minutes which is 58minutes better than last year.
And last week I ran a half marathon in 1h36minutes.
Now tell me if that ain't magical!
So that impossible thing is very possible if you start, if you commit to the plan, if you put in the work, and if you believe you can do it.
"He who says he can and he who says he can't are both usually right!" - Henry Ford
So stop looking for excuses. Stop being afraid and grab the life you want! You owe it to yourself!
Life is an adventure so quit watching it from the sidelines and go on with your adventure.
It won't be easy but it will be worth it!
Now tell me what would you do if you weren't afraid?
Thank you for taking the time to read my work!
I truly appreciate your support and hope you found it inspiring.
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