When I was in high school, I decided that if I was afraid to make a decision, to do something unfamiliar or to speak my truth, I needed to walk towards my fear and just do it. The courage was born from my adolescent desire to not feel held back or controlled by an outside force.
My mom had a lot of fear, as a young single mother raising two kids on very little money. She had good reasons, besides being alone with no backup, she grew up with a lot of criticism.
On the bathroom mirror mom had a note to remind herself to surrender her fears to God. Her fear of making a wrong decision was paralyzing at times. So, I made that vow to myself. Walk towards your fears. Don’t give your power to them. It was risky but the alternative made me feel worse.
My vow to face fear has taken on a new meaning this year. I found myself in a health crisis that felt vulnerable, with physical weakness and uncertain in ways I was previously confident. Courage to face my fears was suddenly harder while feeling vulnerable, exhausted, aware that the consequences are bigger.
But time didn’t stop. Decisions needed to be made, conversations had, fears faced or avoided...
