Is Fear of Change Holding You Back?

It's not meant to be easy.

Worthwhile things rarely are.

We’d all be stuck in the Stone Age if our ancestors took the easy route and never ventured outside their comfort zones.

Many of us are stuck, because familiar is safe. There's a level of comfort in the discomfort and it's easier to stay there than to try something different.

At what cost though?

As a recovering overachiever and in-rehab perfectionist, I do not like change. At all. Change means a first time for something, and first times are rarely perfect. Why should I do it if I'm going to get it wrong or look stupid? (My world would clearly stop spinning on its regular axis).

The past few years have been a big shift. I force myself to try new things, even when my anxiety tells me something bad is going to happen. I've realised my anxiety is a liar and I'm learning to ignore him.

From resignation, to rediscovering dance, to starting coaching, it's all been new and (honestly) scary.

My most recent venture has been body-boarding. To be clear, I'm not a huge fan of large bodies of water. I push through it for beach holidays, but since falling into the pool as a kid before learning to swim, there's an in-built anxiety that's never totally gone away.

I'm not going to say it was a graceful experience. I got knocked on the head multiple times, kept falling off, swallowed way too much salt water and got sand everywhere. As I type this, I'm looking at a series of bruises all over, I still have water in one ear and I have pain in places I don't understand.

Despite all that, I caught one wave at the perfect time. Just one. And it made it all worth it. That wave and the pure joy and laughter in the experience shut my anxiety right up.

What are you saying no to? What's keeping you stuck?

It's a New Year. Take the leap and make a change. I'm rooting for you.