Fear can cripple your chances of seeing or creating an opportunity — if you let it. Yet fear is a natural part of who we are. It’s what we do with our fears — face them, work with them or alleviate them.
When you’re at an uncomfortable place in midlife, how you process your fears can make the difference between living the life of your dreams or staying stuck in a place you don’t wish to be in.
An article at The99Percent.com talks about fear and pushing ourselves past our comfort zones. About not facing fears and taking a risk:
While we tend to focus solely on building our skill sets or expanding our knowledge, the greatest advancement and learning most often comes from action, experience, and taking risk. And our regrets in life reflect this.
Think about the last risk you took. Were all your fears truly realistic? How much did you make up in your head? Oftentimes the fear we construct is much larger than the actual fear we face.
During midlife transition, we can make up lots of fears to keep us from creating the life we want:
- I’m too old.
- I’m past my prime.
- I could never learn that!
- It takes too much time.
- I don’t have enough money.
- There’s no way I could start over again?
- I should have done it when I was in my 20’s.
- I’m afraid I’ll fail.
If you’re uncomfortable and unhappy with what you’re doing now, imagine how you’ll feel in 20 years. Talk about regret! There are many ways to integrate passion and purpose into your life.
First, make a list of your fears. List them all – don’t stop at one page. Let it all come tumbling out.
Each fear that’s holding you back from creating the life you want can be processed and dealt with pragmatically.
Next: What to do with the fears.
Photo by _Rufus
