Joshua Abner

Use Your Fear As Fuel To Live More Fully

Isn’t it funny how behind some of our most joyful moments, we feel fear? Just that subtle lingering feeling, the little voice saying, “Everything is going so great, something is bound to go wrong any second now.” Why is it so hard for us to trust that we are worthy of good things? Why is it so hard for us to believe that life actually shouldn’t always be so hard?

It can be a little scary when a dream comes true, because suddenly, you’re stripped of your excuses as to why it would never happen, why it would never work, and now you’re standing there naked, lighter. The heaviness of the protective layers of your excuses, gone. We get comfortable being weighed down; it feels safer to be cloaked in our insecurities, never having to push ourselves. But this comfort kills us from the inside out, as it eats away at our hearts, sucking out the passion, the joy, the love.

Think about something you’ve always wanted to do. Now think about all the reasons you tell yourself you can’t have it (I bet they already came to mind before this prompt!). Now think about how many of these reasons would still exist whether you did what you wanted or not.

People will judge you, regardless of your action or inaction. You’re going to make more mistakes when you try something new, sure, but you’ll still be making mistakes if you don’t, because after all, you’re only human. And I promise you’re going to regret not trying far more than trying and ‘failing’.

My point is, there will always be some fear, there will always be reasons not to, but so many of our reasons are recycled and can be projected, rather illogically, onto everything. And these reasons are as much our own creation as they are inherited from those around us.

So, if you want to fear anything, fear holding yourself back. Fear what will happen if you don’t take the risk, the chance, the opportunity. Then use this fear to fuel you; let it propel you forward, straight out of your comfort zone.