Don’t Let Fear Stop You Part 1
The only thing in life that is constant is change. With that change comes uncertainty and anxiety because we don’t know what to expect. Many times, the way I’ve coped with this fear of “what’s next” hasn’t been the healthiest. My rule of thumb in general has been “hope for the best and prepare for the worst.” While that may not seem too unhealthy, I have found my preparation for the worst outweighs anything else, particularly in my thinking.
We all know what I’m referring to…the hamster wheel where the thoughts go around and around in circles. What’s even funnier about the hamster wheel is there are really no new thoughts that come. The same fears, doubts, and worries recirculate in new ways. If I am describing you and you’d like my secret for escaping the grip of the hamster wheel, KEEP READING!
Those who have been following me for a while know I just finished my third book in four years. YES, you read that right. I have been a serial book writer for the last several years. This path has taken extreme discipline and perseverance. I’ve wanted to quit almost once a month and that was a good month. Not only did I commit to writing each book to completion, but I also did so while attempting to heal from my own trauma and evolve into who I’ve always been. On top of that, I evolved, healed, wrote, and published each book in front of my social media audience.
As the promotion for book three came to a close, I found myself in a very strange yet familiar place. Over the last four years, writing books had become so much a part of my routine, and in many ways my identity. I was stuck. What was next? Is it ok to chill and do nothing for a little while? Do I have permission to just “live” and let things fall into place? Will I become irrelevant and will people forget about me? These were just some of the questions that overtook my thoughts for several weeks. This was the first time in four years that I didn’t know what was next for me. Have you ever been there? Are you there now? Does it scare you not to know?
If it does, that’s perfectly normal. I’ll say it again…YOU ARE NORMAL! Being scared isn’t an issue unless you allow it to control you. On the contrary, let it motivate you. I don’t have things even close to being figured out yet. I still get overwhelmed by thoughts, but I allow them to pass like a ship in the night. If I am really tripped up and in my head, I take out my journal or my phone and open the note section and start to jot down everything that comes to my head. This exercise will do 3 things:
1) Bring you into a reality that there aren’t as many thoughts as you would imagine. They are just old and recycled in a different way.
2) Declutter your brain.
3) Make you feel a LOT lighter by boosting your mood.
Remember, change is the ONLY constant in life so embracing it makes living so much sweeter.
