I have been doing a lot of soul-searching for a couple of years now and I have come to the realization that fear seems to unwillingly be a part of my life. Granted everyone has fears. Fear of flying (guilty). Fear of heights (guilty, depending on the height). Fear of public speaking. Fear of rejection. Fear of FEAR!!
I have realized that I have a fear of failure. I find myself inspired with an idea, I even go as far as to make a plan with goals and time lines and then…..nothing.
I’m afraid that my plan will not succeed. That I will let myself down, maybe even let others down and I will feel nothing but a big ‘ol failure. Just the thought of it is enough to tuck my tail between my legs and go hide under a chair.
However I am realizing how debilitating this fear can actually become. Imagine something stopping you from your destiny, from your dreams and from doing something meaningful and fabulous, from something that can completely change your life in a way you have only dreamed of! I feel like that is even scarier than fearing failure itself! And that final thought is what finally allowed me to realize that I can no longer let this fear control my life and stop me from living, growing and succeeding. It is one of my new year resolutions to not allow fear of failure stop me from doing the things I want/need to do.
I can be certain that some of the most influential, powerful, successful people in our history have been afraid at one point but they carried on anyway and now we will always remember Martin Luther King, Jr as the leader of the african-american civil rights movement, fighting for equality and justice in a humane and peaceful manner. It is reported that Thomas Edison tried thousands of times to invent the light bulb before he finally succeeded, simply stating “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”. Gotta love that attitude!
Can you imagine what the world would be like today if these influential people let fear get in the way of their destiny? Now imagine what your world will be like if you let fear get in the way of YOUR destiny…and what it CAN be like if you ignore that fear and carry on with your head held high ready to take on any obstacle and set back until you do succeed. And even if you do fail, that’s totally okay. Get back up, dust off those knees, and carry on.
How else are we to improve and change and evolve if we don’t have set backs and failures to reflect upon??
I have come to realize that my fear of fearing failure is far greater than fearing failure itself and I will not let that control my life anymore.
Feel free to leave a comment if you share the same experience of any type of fear you feel is holding you back from living your life to the fullest.
peacelovenfood 
I just love your honesty! I have recently been forced to make some very difficult decisions about my health and some of them have been quite frightful. This post has reminded me that we all face challenging times and fear can hold us back. However, sometimes forging ahead despite our fears is truly the best path. You are a wonderful nutrition professional and a lovely and inspiring person.
Those are very kind words Dorothy, thank you. I can only imagine how scary it is to make decisions on your health, but you are right, eventually we need to pick a path and all we can do is take a deep breath, listen to our instincts, pick a path and believe that everything will be alright.
What a wonderful post! Go for it girl, don’t be afraid. I have the same fears too. I have soo many ideas in my head, but cannot implement them! I am not sure if I am fearing failure, or I am fearing that I am too over my head. Maybe it is the same thing?
Amanda, you are brilliant! I would hate to think your fabulous ideas are not manifesting because you are “too over your head”. There is no such thing! No one can tell you the sky is the limit when there are foot steps on the moon! You have so much to offer, don’t doubt yourself.