Is fear itself, right? Surely, one of the finest proclamations in history, is it not?  And yet, so few of us actually seize the opportunities we are given to implement this wisdom.  Why?

Because we’re afraid… that’s why.

We’re afraid that we might actually reach for something higher than the inferior set of standards by which we’ve become accustom and instead we tell ourselves that tomorrow might be a better day to take that leap, or make that call, or ask that question, or think that way.

A while ago, a friend of mine sent me a link to a blog she thought was both inspirational and interesting.  After visiting said blog and reading through the entries, I had the sort of energy rush that moves you to action almost immediately.

Now, I’m the first to admit that I’m a self-help junkie and I’m easily moved by inspirational stories.  But even though that’s true, it’s rare such a story ignites my enthusiasm to the point of being jolted from my desk chair like a crazed sports fan in the last seconds of a title-clenching championship as I read.

The blog I’m referencing is called “Jump David, Jump” and the author of this blog was diagnosed with a brain tumor (which by the way, was not the reason for my crazed sports fan behavior).  His tumor is not what makes this story impactful… well it’s partially why… but let me explain.

What makes this story so fascinating is how he took his prognosis and turned it into an opportunity to face his fear.  Not the fear of his tumor, mind you, the fear of what’s behind it.  He responded to his diagnosis and trips to various doctors and specialists by combining his medical discoveries with an honest dose of self-reflection and then delivered it all with humor and sincerity through his writing.

This all ties together… I promise.

In one of David’s posts there is a passage that explains fear far better than I ever could and also explains the reason why we don’t instinctively face our fears head on…

Here is exactly what he wrote:

“It’s so hard to bare your soul to the world and honestly say, ‘This is me. This is what I hold deep down inside as the hope for my future. And if this goes bad, if my hopes are offered to the world and I fail miserably, I’ve got nothing left. What I thought was at the core of my true being turned out to be a failure. And now, because I opened my big mouth, everybody knows what a loser I am…”

THIS, ladies and gentleman, is what the truth about fear feels like.

What we hold inside and never let out can eventually make us sick, cynical, crazy, depressed, or any other rotten combination of emotionally dysfunctional versions of ourselves.  And for what?  To save ourselves the pain and agony of ridicule?  Well, I have news for you.  David’s onto something.

The longer you hold back on what it is you actually want… the longer you’ll have to endure the type of ridicule that’s way worse than all the people you’re linked to on Facebook, laughing at you simultaneously.  Self-doubt is way worse than that.  Face it, we package fear and hand it to ourselves like it’s a gift.  We are our own worst enemies.

My very first post on this site is about the innocence of who we are at the age of five (go here if you want to read about it) and the fact that we believe we can do anything, be anything or have anything.

However, somewhere along the way, something happens to us.  We go through life and people tell us we’re stupid, and we’re teased by our peers, and we suffer mass amounts of hurt and disappointment or worse… things so unimaginable that I wouldn’t even know how to write about them because my life was a cake walk in comparison.

And we use all that “life garbage” and turn it into our own version of the truth.  And we hand over our mental money and buy into the idea that whatever bad thing anybody ever told us to be true about ourselves must in fact, be true.  Otherwise, they wouldn’t have said it… right?

So, here’s my question:

What will it take to get you to scrap that idea and face the fear?

My hope is that your answer does not involve a brain tumor.  My hope is that something else will spark your need to discover your own unique something that’s calling you out of your own comfort zone and leading you directly into the fear you work so hard to avoid.

And the only rule in facing that fear is this: HONESTY RULES.  Because the moment you get honest is the moment you are forced to leap.  That is also the exact moment you will undoubtedly encounter that very fear… and your only option is to move through it.  It’s not even required that you move through it with grace and style.  You can trudge through it like a soldier covered in mud and moss by the time you’re on the other side, but the point is… move through it.

I actually want to open this topic for discussion because I’m curious.

What is your biggest fear?  Or maybe more appropriate… What is the biggest lie you tell yourself, regularly?

Is it that you’re not adequate?  Or is it that you might just be equipped beyond your wildest dreams to do something you never thought possible, but fear is getting in your way?

What is the worst that could happen if you try and then fail?

And finally… what on earth are you waiting for?

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