Feel the Fear & Do It Anyway

Whilst I feel overwhelmingly happy about my blog and I’m super excited to see how it all goes, I can’t help but feel a sense of anxiety… Second-thoughts drift through my head and I find myself questioning whether I should put myself out there. I, of course, am in an industry where if you don’t put yourself out there, chances are you won’t get very far... but as a mostly introverted person who feels anxiety I can’t help but want to close-up and/or second guess myself.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m super proud of myself for starting this blog and I hope it’ll continue to inspire and motivate me, as well as keep me connected to all my readers.

However, in this post I just want to talk about how I, as an introvert, persevere and how I continue doing what I love despite these voices who second guess me (both in my head and out).

Firstly, I want to thank both my parents, especially my father for always telling me to “feel the fear & do it anyway” … Growing up and even now as a 16-year-old girl, my father has always opened doors of opportunity for me and shown me the ropes of life/business (my mother has as well but in different ways). My dad has always pushed me in to doing things I’m initially uncomfortable with, not in the horrible “go jump off a cliff” way, but in the way, that; when I wanted to take dance classes but was so scared to I locked myself in the bathroom, he was the one who told me to “feel the fear and do it anyway”, and you know what? Whilst I was nervous to do so, once I was in the dance class I was super happy, and I really enjoyed it! 

This went for and still does go for many things.

Feeling the fear & doing it anyway, to me, is an important life lesson that we should all carry around in our tool-kit of life. I was lucky enough to have someone help me learn it, but I know not everyone gets those opportunities… So how do you as an individual fight through fear?

I know a lot of you suffer from anxiety, depression and other mental-health issues that often stop you from doing things you would usually enjoy. Especially if you have anxiety, it can become overwhelming when you want to desperately do something, but you have it holding you back…

Whilst I am no professional, I hope some of these tips can hopefully help you persevere and allow you to do the things you love without letting fear stop you.

Feel the Fear & Do It Anyway

1.      You are not your fears.

When you’re experiencing fear or if it dwells on your mind, it’s important to know you are not your fears, you are the awareness experiencing it.

2.      Get specific.

Pin-point exactly what scares you. Trying something new? Social situations? etc. Begin to observe what is going on in your head during those situations.

3.      Be curious!

Similar to observing what’s going on, get curious as to how you react to your fears, be aware and try momentarily being out of body... What I mean by that is; pretend you're an eagle looking down and observing your mind with curiosity. Doing this has helped me a lot in many situations.

4.      Do one scary thing a day/a week…

I recommend starting off small… for e.g. saying hello to someone and asking them how they are. If you suffer from social anxiety, this can be scary so you might want to start with something else… However, if you aren’t good with speaking to people, you can try having questions ready in your mind to ask a person, that way you’re ready to make conversation. Over a period of pushing yourself, little by little, you’ll soon condition yourself to persevere.

Don’t forget to treat yourself afterwards for trying something scary!

5.      Talk to someone

This could mean talking to someone you’re close to or meeting with a therapist. Address your fear and confront it. Sometimes talking it out is a wonderful way to understand why you do or feel things.

My next two tips kind of go hand in hand as they are both similar…

6.      Fight fear with gratitude & positivity

I don’t know about you, but whenever I start to feel anxious or fearful negative thoughts and worst-case scenarios fill my head to the point of panic-attacks. Not a healthy way to cope. Gratitude and positivity are beautiful ways to combat these feelings… Whenever you have a negative thought actively realize what your brain is doing and flip it in to something positive and/or write down or think to yourself (at least) 3 things you’re grateful for. The more you do this, the more your brain will learn to seek out positivity and gratitude… (I recommend keeping a gratitude journal.)

And lastly…

7.      BREATHE

Breathing is such a core way of centering and anchoring yourself in the present. There are many breathing techniques that you can try out/memorize or you can download a meditation/breathing app to guide you and take with you on the go.

I hope some of these tips help you on your life journey and that you always remember to

“feel the fear & do it anyway”.

Persevere, persevere, persevere!

YOU CAN DO IT! I BELIEVE IN YOU!

Do you have any tips on how to conquer anxiety/fear that I didn’t mention? Leave a comment below on what it is, so we can all help each other!

Much love.