How many times have you gotten in your own way due to fear?
Have you been limiting yourself in… your career?
… your health?
… your relationships
… your self-worth?
I am here to tell you, you can change that.
YOU have the power to do anything you set your mind to. That fear you harbor is only a state of mind.
I will fill you in on a little secret. I am painfully shy.
With a lack of confidence and a lot of fear mixed in for spice, I have wasted years not feeling worthy or good enough.
I was convinced that no one would want to listen to anything I had to say.
In social situations, you would always find me hiding in the back of the room. My goal was to get through life without being noticed.
Funny.
Most people who know me would not be able to imagine this side of my personality.
When my children were old enough for school, I realized that I had to become an active member of our community.
That my voice was needed as my children’s advocate. Things had to change if I was going to meet this challenge.
I had to make a difficult decision.
It felt safe to stay quiet and hidden. This is where I was perfectly content.
However, my new beliefs required something different.
If I wanted to have an opinion or see things change, I had to put up or shut up!
Yikes!
My plan of attack included stepping up, joining in, volunteering, taking responsibility for creating change.
I got involved in youth sports, the Parent-Teacher Association, and the Education Foundation.
I made quite a name for myself!
I was flexible, accepting any task that was put in front of me.
I worked with school administrators.
I did a ton of public speaking, presenting at the Board of Education convention and the Geraldine Dodge Foundation, just for starters.
This doesn’t seem to jive with the shy girl I described earlier.
If I was committed to taking an active role as a member of our community, I had to find a way to do this.
I was perfectly capable. I had to dig deep and find my courage.
I succeeded!
Oh, you can be sure I was in a cold sweat and my knees were shaking. At the same time, I was happy to be held accountable to my new found roles and pushed through the discomfort.
I would take a deep breath and act before I could take a second to think about it. You see I had everything I needed inside of me the whole time.
Those moments were the start of years spent advocating for the children of our community. I gave my service, and what I got in return was immeasurable.
Life experiences I will never forget.
That was just the beginning. Just a few years later, I was once again the catalyst for change.
Powering through my fear became my go-to move.
I chose to own my vulnerability, knowing I didn’t have all the answers, and yet, I knew I could do anything I put my heart and mind to.
Fortunately for me, I found my inner warrior in time for us to face multiple layoffs for my husband.
The economy was falling apart and so was his career in manufacturing. By the third layoff in as many years, I refused to give strangers the power to rip the rug out from under us again.
I decided to create my own income, and soon after an opportunity fell in my lap.
I was approached to partner in a Physical Therapy business.
Now, I am an accountant, not a physical therapist. And it required me to invest some of our precious savings.
What was I thinking?
The doubts crowded in.
While I had spent many years as a stay-at-home mom with a very busy volunteer life, what did I know about running a business?
And if I failed in this business, I would also fail my family by squandering our savings.
NO!
Once again, I realized I was selling myself short. I decided to tell a different story:
“I am a capable woman who has a degree and many skills in money management, planning, scheduling — you name it — from running my household.”
All it took was a belief in me and my desired outcome in bold letters in my mind’s eye.
Talk about taking a leap of faith!
Not only was my husband unemployed, I was risking what we had on an unknown venture.
All my skills and effort went into getting this business off the ground.
I was determined to do whatever was necessary to ensure that we would never be vulnerable again.
I would accept no less.
How did it end?
Almost 20 years later, my little mom and pop shop is still chugging along. We employ 10 people and better yet, we’ve had the opportunity to help thousands of people!
I get to do what I love and make a difference all at the same time.
I still have many very uncomfortable tasks to face on a daily basis. My knees still shake and that cold sweat erupts, but I face them.
I remind myself that I have whatever it takes and so do you!
International best-selling author, Rod Hairston, states that you have 5 super-abilities:
while you may not have any control over everything that happens to you, you do have the responsibility in how you respond to your life events.
Even though I didn’t create our financial crisis, I chose to take action rather than allowing myself to be victimized by our circumstances.
Have you have faced hardships and didn’t know where to turn or how to proceed? And yet you just knew you had to?
you are accountable to do everything to the best of your innate capability… not just your perceived abilities. Especially if someone is depending on you.
I was accountable to my family. I was risking our savings, I needed to make this work for our well being.
Have you found yourself in uncertain territory, and knew you had to answer to someone?
the knowledge that you are limited only by your belief in your abilities.
Even though I was venturing into a career opportunity that was something new to me, I knew deep down that I had the intelligence and drive to make it work.
How often do you challenge yourself?
How strong is your belief in what you are capable of?
Have you ever found yourself in that position, taking a chance, and knowing you had to answer to your loved ones?
Owning the knowledge that you can do more?
How often do you challenge yourself to step out of your comfort zone?
Do you push your limits to see how far you can go?
defined as emotional exposure, risk, and uncertainty, this is where the power is. This is where you get to shine.
There was no doubt I was frightened out of my mind, but I knew I could not let strangers control our future.
Have you found yourself fearful or unsure, not giving yourself the belief in your own abilities?
When you are feeling fearful or unsure and not believing in your own abilities, how do you respond?
being open-minded, letting yourself figure out what works
I just knew I had to produce a sustainable income. I had no idea where this was going to take me.
Are you ready to take a chance on yourself? I knew that I had to create an income, I had no idea how all I knew was that I would figure it out.
Are you ready to take a chance on yourself?
With a good attitude, a belief in your competence, and a strong effort, you can face any adversity. Better yet, you will end up stronger and ready to enjoy an improved life.
You too can change your mindset from fear to confidence and build a stronger belief in yourself.
I believe in you! I believe you have everything you need inside you right now.
If you are ready to climb out of your rut, check out the Growth U Daily Growth program. It’s the perfect place to start your road to change.