Feel The Fear

In my life, I’ve really struggled with allowing fear to hold me back. Fear of failure, fear of looking stupid, fear of rejection, fear of making mistakes, fear of someone not liking me, and a TON of other fears.

In the past when it came to weight loss, I would give up before I ever started. I feared how difficult it would be to resist the temptation to eat when I shouldn't. I feared it would be too hard to stop eating when I've had a sensible amount of food. I feared I wouldn't be able to control myself at a restaurant or family gathering. I feared I wouldn't be able to eat yummy foods and maintain a healthy weight. I feared exercise would be too inconvenient, uncomfortable, and difficult. I feared it would cost too much. I feared that my body would change in a negative way after a significant weight loss. I feared I would start losing weight, make a little progress, then lose control and blow the whole thing... and then gain more weight than when I started (like many times before).

That's a LOT of fears… and there were probably a hundred more I didn’t list.

How sad it is to think that many of us live our lives this way... listening to our fears and allowing them to hold us back from living the life we dream of. When I think of all the times I've tried to lose weight and maintain but haven't succeeded, I wonder how my life might look had I not given into those fears and the doubt that I was good enough. The truth is, I had to go through that in order to learn and grow.

Recently, I heard a someone say “Feeling fear means I’m growing… I’m living on purpose. Not feeling fear means I’m settling.”

For me, it’s now more terrifying to not feel fear and settle than to feel it while pursuing my dreams.

Although we may not be able to control what happens in our future, we shouldn’t live in fear! Jeremiah 29:11 says "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." That’s a calming, peaceful promise… so why are we worrying?

Let's feel the fear and keep making choices that will get us closer to our dreams!