Had a conversation the other day that led to this rant. Sorry for the preachiness.

Let’s talk about fear.

Fear

noun

1. a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. Synonyms: foreboding, apprehension, consternation, dismay, dread, terror, fright, panic, horror, trepidation, qualm. Antonyms: courage, security, calm, intrepidity.

2. a specific instance of or propensity for such a feeling: an abnormal fear of heights. Synonyms: phobia, aversion; bête noire, bogy, bogey, bugbear. Antonyms: liking, fondness, penchant, predilection.

3. concern or anxiety; solicitude: a fear for someone’s safety.

4. reverential awe, especially toward God: the fear of God. Synonyms: awe, respect, reverence, veneration.

5. something that causes feelings of dread or apprehension; something a person is afraid of: Cancer is a common fear.

It’s also a verb!

verb (used with object)

7. to regard with fear; be afraid of. Synonyms: apprehend, dread.

8. to have reverential awe of. Synonyms: revere, venerate, honor.

9. to consider or anticipate (something unpleasant) with a feeling of dread or alarm: It’s about to snow again, I fear.

10. Archaic. to experience fear in (oneself): I fear me he will ne’er forgive us.

verb (used without object)

11. to have fear; be afraid: I’ll go with you, so do not fear!

12. to feel apprehensive or uneasy (usually followed by for ): In this time of economic instability, I fear for my children’s future.

I know, a lot of filler for something simple.

So, on track. Fear is something we all live with, but I want to focus on a specific type of fear. The type that tends to stifle us—to give us hesitation when we’re confronted with the decision to try.

That’s it—to try.

We’ve all had that fear. The fear of trying something new, of putting yourself somewhere alien to you for the very first time. As humans, we’re creatures of habit. Seriously, fuck with a toddler’s routine and see how fast everything degenerates. Familiarity, safety, comfort, complacency—we build civilizations off those things.

Now, my point.

Stop being scared. Stop fearing whatever it is you fear that’s keeping you stuck in place. Do you write? Then find someone to read what you wrote. Sing? Sing in front of strangers. Run? Sign up for a marathon.

The amount of effort folks will put into excuses to keep from doing any of those things—it’s mind blowing. That negative momentum, turned the right way, would take them well beyond any goal they could set for themselves.

But we still do it. We still keep ourselves from moving forward, sideways, upwards, fucking any way we can go (think all I have left is down, but you get it).

Fear is momentary. The minute we put a foot forward against it, it washes away.

So go do something. Overcome your bullshit and take the steps to bring happiness into your life.

I promise it will be worth it.

Be easy,

Angel