Be Afraid And Go On Anyway

Over the weekend we were taking down Christmas decorations and putting back the regular stuff that fills our house the rest of the year.

This little plaque hangs in my kitchen.  The boys gave it to me years ago, and I've probably looked at it hundreds of times.  But I'm not sure I've ever REALLY read it.

One of my goals for this year is to be more courageous.  I take steps every day to keep my anxiety under control, but my biggest issue is fear.  Fear of the unknown, fear that I'll make a mistake, or that something bad will happen.  Sometimes I miss out because of fear, and I get angry with myself after the fact.

So I thought that my first step towards being more courageous was to stop being afraid. I figured if I could manage to overcome the fears that creep into my mind every day, I would have more courage.  

But yesterday as I really saw this plaque for the first time,  I realized that nobody is completely free from fear in their lives.  A soldier going into battle feels fear.  A person facing cancer treatments is certainly afraid.  A mother sending their child off to college for the first time can't help but be fearful.  

My friend Kathy has had to face some pretty terrible things in her life.  She had ovarian cancer, lost her job and her house, and her oldest son committed suicide.  I'm honestly not sure how she gets out of bed and faces each day.  Yet she goes on with her life. Our friend Todd doesn't know if he'll walk again.  He has a wife and three children to support, and he might spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.  But he is the most positive, faithful person I've ever met.  I know that both of them are afraid, but they demonstrate such courage.

The truly courageous people are afraid and they go on anyway.  That's the key. Yesterday it hit me in the face like a ton of bricks.  I was focusing on the wrong part of the equation.

I'm always going to have fears.  I certainly need to keep working on ways to mitigate them, especially those that relate to fear of the unknown, but it's unrealistic to expect them to ever go away completely.  My natural inclination when someone asks me to do something is to say no.  Then I give it some thought, and often come around to a yes. To be afraid and go on anyway, I need to work on saying yes in the first place.  I'll figure out the how later!

I'll probably be writing a lot this coming year about my journey to face my fears and go on anyway.  Not only do I want to "go on", but I want to do so with a positive attitude and a grateful heart.  Any suggestions for how you have accomplished this in your life would be welcome!

This past week, cultivating and celebrating courage has been a theme on many of the blogs I read.  Pam at over50feeling40 talked about doing big things this year, and Carol Cassara wrote about noticing the courageous people all around us and helping them in any way we can.  Both great reads.

Have a wonderful week and be courageous!

Linking up with Motivation Monday