Old Truth: A little fear never hurt anybody...
Here I am, living in a city that was completely new to me a year ago. I have accomplished so much in such a short amount of time and it's all because I took that first step. The first step wasn't me quitting my job in Houston and deciding to move to Chicago. The first step wasn't me buying my plane ticket to Chicago. The first step was me deciding that I wasn't going to allow fear to conquer my life anymore.
There have been several opportunities that I've passed up on for my fears. The fear of not being educated enough. The fear of not being good enough. The fear of not having enough connections. It took a long time for me to recognize the source and what was feeding those fears.
Thinking back as far as I'm able, I can remember my always having those fears. It could've easily stemmed from something in my childhood or it could've stemmed from my need to be perfect. Who knows?! But as I got older, the fears grew stronger. The truth is that, I have never been a dumb person. I almost always mastered everything that I put my mind to and I had pretty decent connections. It never occurred to me that I had no need to be in fear. It did occur to me, that when I made the decision to conquer those fears, there were negative voices striving to keep those demons fed.
I had to recognize that the negative voices were coming from certain people around me. Those people would affirm my fears. When I would counter them with positivity, they would fight back. In an effort to put my own needs first (yay me!), I removed those people from my circle and never looked back. It didn't take long for me to see the positive effect that that decision had on my life. That effect has caused me to be very cautious (read: cautious, and not afraid) of letting people into my circle.
I now walk down a path of fearlessness. I am walking towards a destination unknown but I walk in excellence. My definition of excellence is doing my best, no matter how I feel (feelings aren't facts but more on that later). There are times that fear tries to creep in but it is never welcomed to stay. My new take on life and living has been confirmed many times over. Those confirmations make it that much easier for me to keep moving forward with my shoulders straight and head held high.
Note: I believe a little fear is healthy, it's what keeps us striving for more. However, it's the fear that is suppressed that tries to devour us.
