“Courage is knowing what not to fear.” Plato

Oh, fear—you are my eternal nemesis! But I am well aware of your presence, so you no longer wield the power you once had over me. If I could point to just one thing that holds most people back from attaining the success that they truly desire and deserve, I would point to fear. And it really doesn’t matter how good one gets at overcoming fear, fear is never going away. It will continue to lurk in the dark shadows and rear its ugly head when we least want it to, for as long as we live.

Part of courage, I believe, is knowing that fear is never going away, regardless of how courageous we become. Truthfully there is no courage without fear. Fear must exist for courage to be a thing, and courage is a muscle that can (and should) be exercised, in light of the permanency of fear. Simply acknowledging fear as a forever nemesis should encourage all of us to exercise our courage muscle.

What are you afraid of? Spiders and snakes aside, what has fear stood in the way of so you won’t move forward? Most of us will sense the fear and back down or walk away, but there is another option! Don’t back down! Challenge it. Really put your finger on EXACTLY what you’re afraid of. Often times, when we pinpoint the fear, the fear begins to dissipate. You may still feel it in the pit of your stomach, but not with the same intensity. So today, be courageous. Fear doesn’t bite, you know that, right? It’s just a feeling. Allow yourself to feel it and see if you can get it to back down! It’s like a staring contest—who will blink first. My money is on you to win!

With Gratitude,

Beth

P.S. Plato also said, “Courage is a kind of salvation,” and we could all use that.