Go on! Get Brave!
It sounds so easy, doesn’t it?
Squash that fear and head right into the thing or the situation that scares you the most.
Well, as anyone who has ever been afraid of anything will tell you, it is never that easy. Getting brave isn’t as easy as removing all fear and for the most part, the bravest people in the world are still terrified, but they jump in anyway.
Bravery isn’t something you are born with, but rather, it is something that you have the power to develop. It’s a skill that you gain by running toward the things you fear over and over again.
Now, there’s a way to face your fears and be smart about it, rather than jumping out of a plane or walking into a field of snakes because they scare the heck out of you.
How To Bravely (and Safely) Handle Your Fears
First, you need to make a list of what scares you. It doesn’t matter if the list is big, small, filled with unreasonable fears, unlikely fears, or fears that you might face every single day. Make the list, then celebrate your effort. The first step can be the hardest, but you DID IT!
Then start crossing out any fears that have a very low chance of happening. For example, if you are terrified of drowning but don’t live near water and never go into a pool, then you probably aren’t going to drown in the future – cross off that fear and let it go.
The fears that are left should be fears that you either encounter on a day to day basis, or fears that you can reasonably see happening to you.
Now, for those fears you have written down, you need to look at each one and create little baby steps to handle them.
For example, let’s say you have a fear of speaking to strangers, or of public speaking in general. You’re in good company – public speaking is one of the number 1 fears of most adults,
Maybe some baby steps are just saying “Hi, how are you?” to a stranger at the grocery store, talking to the cashier at your favorite coffee shop, or seeing someone with a friendly or cute dog and asking, “Can I pet your dog?” or “What kind of dog do you have?”
It doesn’t have to be you making best friends with a stranger off the street, but you can talk to someone and just ask one question or say one phrase. With the pet example above, you’ll find that many people will gladly engage in conversation about their beloved furbaby,
Soon you can build up to two phrases, and then three, and then four, and soon you just might have a full conversation with someone you just met. Who knows?
With every fear you have, you can start with small steps and then get to the bigger ones and check each fear off your list one by one.
Go In And Do It Anyway
The first time you talk to a stranger, get behind the wheel of a car for the first time, walk in an unfamiliar neighborhood, or otherwise do something you are afraid of, you will be terrified. That’s normal and natural, and nothing you should beat yourself up about,
But once you push past the fear you will notice something, the fear leaves you alone. There;s nothing to be scared of at all.
Simply choosing to go all in despite your fear, makes your fear leave.
Plus, when (or IF) the fear comes back it comes back weaker and weaker until you almost feel nothing at all. Then you can perform whatever the task is (the task you used to be scared of) with no fear at all!
Remember, bravery is a skill you can learn, develop, and strengthen.
You might have to overcome discomfort and fear to learn the lesson, but on the other side of fear is boundless opportunity.
You just need to learn to be brave enough to take the first step and the next one, and when you repeatedly face fear, overcome it, and force it to back down, you’ll be there in no time.
Affirmations to Power Up Your Level of Bravery
I inhale bravery with every breath.
I am fierce.
I am unstoppable.
Fear never gets in the way of my courage.
I am adventurous.
I live outside my comfort zone.
I move past my doubts.
Being brave comes easy to me.
I take big risks.
I am not afraid to step outside the box.
I am not afraid of the outcome.
I trust myself.
