A Beast Called Fear

So, I did a thing.

I wrote a book. And then I published that book. I wrote about a part of my life and, bravely, I wrote it as a memoir.

A few times when I've told people that I wrote a book their response has been that they too could write a book about their own life. It's true. Anybody can write a book. The difference is that I did write the book. And then I published the book. Not everybody follows through, like I did.

I think that the biggest challenge that I had to face, with regard to completing my memoir, was FEAR and the many appearances that my fear took when it was trying to discourage me. I believe that the biggest hurdle that many of us face when we think about doing something out of our ordinary is FEAR.

There were times when I was afraid that my words were going to offend some people, and so I made my own words smaller or erased them entirely. There were times when I was afraid that I was going to be really successful and that I would never be able to measure up to that standard again. That fear still lingers, even after I stomped over it. There were times when I was afraid that I was going to get lost, that I just didn't know what I was doing, and therefore I wouldn't be able to complete what I started. But I did complete the book. I completed it, and I haven’t stopped making sure that it gets seen.

There were even times when I sat down with tears on my face and considered giving up. Times when I felt like I just couldn't do it. I had set myself a goal of submitting 50,000 words, and there were moments when I hit 20,000 words, 25,000 words, and even 30,000 words that I truly felt like 50,000 was such a stretch. It seemed almost unachievable. The day that I submitted the manuscript to the publisher I handed them 54,000 words. My fears of being unable to reach a goal, that I had set, were unfounded. That fear created itself from the mud of my own insecurities and pushing past it pushed that fear back into the mud from where it had risen.

Fear is a thing that most people experience at one time or another, and too many people allow it to stop them from doing things that they want to do in life. Fear can change a person. And it can prevent some of the most amazing experiences for so many people, simply because it reaches from the depths of our early experiences and promises us pain of loss. The belief that we could feel a loss or pain can keep many of us from even trying.

The TRUTH about fear is that it will tell you huge lies. It will tell you that you’re not good enough, or smart enough, or liked enough. Fear will have you believing that you cannot do something, when the reality is that each of us can do many things that we never imagined possible! Fear is created inside of us when we have a bad experience – it is like an immune reaction to a virus. And in some instances, it can be a good thing, such as realizing that we shouldn’t put our hand into a fire or perhaps we shouldn’t jump from the roof.

However, occasionally our common sense becomes self-harming rather than self-preserving. It is that over-reaction to life experiences that becomes a fear which prevents us from attempting to do awesome things. Sometimes our fears can manifest as anxiety and disturb our life, so we turn away from the possibilities that could propel us into a world of success and greatness. All too often fear stifles creativity. It steals potential moments of amazement because dreamers frequently believe that they cannot feasibly reach that pinnacle of success safely.

The best piece of information that I can share at this moment is this, success IS possible. But only if we can stare into ourselves and see the ear for the insecure beast that it is. Fear can be made smaller by looking at it, and by knowing ourselves well.

If you believe in yourself, even a tiny bit, then you can shrink fear and easily step over it. Believe that you are anything that you want to be. Believe it as if you are, and you can achieve great things.

I am not saying that every book written will be a bestseller, but I can guarantee that every book dreamt of without ever being published will NOT be a bestseller. Every song not written, every dress not designed, and every single step not taken shall be only a dream without staring into that beast called fear and making it smaller.

Believe in your right to write about something, whether paragraph or verse.

Believe in your ability to create something beautiful for the world to enjoy.

And believe that you are better than your fear.

Every single time.