'Do one thing every day that scares you'.
25 years later and, in my head, I still hear that in Baz Luhrmann's voice.
It's been a stressful few years: COVID, Eskom, fake news, South African politics, UK politics, American politics, Australian professors and Olympic entry criteria for Breaking...the list goes on.
Setting aside the things that are outside of our direct and daily control, I've been thinking alot about what holds us back in our personal and professional lives. I could write paragraphs on stress, boundaries, mindset, etc but fear is standing out for me right now.
On the facts behind it:
Julie Smith's book 'Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before' explains it really well. She speaks about how, every time we don't do something that scares us, we reconfirm the belief that it wasn't safe or that we can't handle it. Our brains learn by doing (or not doing). Avoidance strengthens anxiety, while facing what we fear builds the confidence that we actually can do it. Yes, it's uncomfortable, but growth is never easy.
On my experience with it:
I find panic attacks inconvenient at best, immobilising at worst. Yes, I joke, but I also find it makes the topic easier for me to address. I think so many of us maintain the facade that all is well and we believe fear and anxiety are weaknesses. They're not. They're the brain and body's way of firing some warning shots when they want to protect us from a worst-case scenario outcome. It's then our decision what we choose to allow to shape our decisions and our experience. One line in the book particularly stood out for me "Every time we cut something out of our lives because of fear, life shrinks a little'. For me, that was even scarier than the individual smaller fears.
On what to do about it:
No, you don't have to immediately jump off a cliff (thanks a lot to the besties who blind-booked me on a tandem paraglide a few years ago without telling me what we were doing so I could 'deal with my fear of heights'). Step 1 is really just becoming aware of which fears may be holding you back and whether there are some decisions worth making.
On the Baz Luhrmann reference:
If you haven't heard it yet, or if you're feeling nostalgic and haven't listened to it in a while, I'm attaching the link. The advice still holds up pretty well, even for us, the Class of '24.
https://youtu.be/sTJ7AzBIJoI?si=Zx_Po3AAv1EtB4Vh
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