e b o s e t a .

I recently read this in a book and decided to officially adopt it as one of my new life mottos. If you think about it, we’ve all been crippled by that uncomfortable feeling of fear a number of times throughout our lives. Some of us are real good at looking like they’re not phased by it, while others avoid any and all situations that allow fear to make any type of debut. As for myself, I’ve come to a point in my life where I realize that it is the main thing keeping me from becoming the best woman I can possibly be. Besides my own restless and self-doubting thoughts, fear has been the biggest baracade keeping me from my true self.  

I was sitting with one of my very good friends the other night, chatting about how we think we’ve individually grown since our college days. We talked about the personal milestones we hope to accomplish and eventually landed on the topic of fear and how we can sometimes be our worst enemies, especially when it comes to reaching goals that seem beyond our grasp. She mentioned a great book called, Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Dr. Susan Jeffers. In the book, she elaborates on the title and breaks down the four-letter word, where it comes from and how we become more powerful and happy the moment we realize our ability to handle it. But before she gets into detail, she lists The Five Truths about Fear near the introduction of the book:

1. The fear will never go away as long as I continue to grow. 
2. The only way to get rid of the fear to do something is to go out…and do it. 
3. The only way to feel better about myself is to go out…and do it. 
4. Not only am I going to experience whenever I’m on unfamiliar territory, but so is everyone else. 
5. Pushing through fear is less frightening that living with the underlying fear that comes from a feeling of helplessness.

Not only do I love the title of the self-help book, but I really like the reality of these five sentences and the oftentimes paralyzing emotion. So whenever you’re feeling like you’re less than great, insecure or afraid, remember these five sentences, breathe deeply and say, “I can handle it!”…because believe it or not, we all can. 

[Photo Source: UrbanPolitico]