I have never been particularly risk aversive, and thus, I often make huge, flailing mistakes. I unfortunately discovered I was getting a little bit lazy about throwing caution to the wind recently, so I’ve just begun the process of shifting back to my more daring ways. I think even the best of us get a little fearful at times, whether it’s fear of taking a new professional direction, fear of making ourselves emotionally vulnerable … or fear of any other uncharted frontier that will be temporarily uncomfortable but, if we’re lucky, will completely change our lives and perspectives for the better.
So, here are some quotes about feeling the fear, living with gusto, being ourselves … and boldly “doing it anyway.”
“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.” — Lucius Annaeus Seneca
“I must say a word about fear. It is life’s only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life. It is a clever, treacherous adversary, how well I know. It has no decency, respects no law or convention, shows no mercy. It goes for your weakest spot, which it finds with unnerving ease. It begins in your mind, always … so you must fight hard to express it. You must fight hard to shine the light of words upon it. Because if you don’t, if your fear becomes a wordless darkness that you avoid, perhaps even manage to forget, you open yourself to further attacks of fear because you never truly fought the opponent who defeated you.” — Yann Martel (from Life of Pi)
“Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary. The people we trust with that important talk can help us know that we are not alone.” — Fred Rogers
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