They say every journey begins with a single step... but sometimes, the fear of taking the first step grips you so tight that you never move from where you are.
Last year, I took one step that led to many more toward a healthy life. I auditioned for Extreme Weight Loss. That step included being vulnerable, exposing my weakness, admitting prior defeat, asking for help, driving on ice to the open casting call two hours away from home, countless pages of paperwork, making videos for the casting team and basically being 100 percent honest and real. THAT WAS SCARY!!!! I was afraid. I was afraid of what others would think, how I would look, and that I would be judged for being fat. I was scared to show the real me. I wondered if people would like the real me. Little did I know that the first step was the first of many on this journey.
Being the parent of a child with autism, I am not new to fear... Autism parents deal with our children's anxiety and fears (sometimes over the top and unrealistic fears like toilets flushing, fear of germs, crowds or certain sounds)! We stay in schedules and routines to avoid change - and sometimes, it causes us to have our own fears (fear of meltdowns, fear of parenting wrong, fear of losing our minds!)
I am going to admit, I am sort-of a "fraidy cat". I'm the girl that has missed out several times because I won't take a risk because of fear. I was held back by fear in so many areas of my life. FEAR of change, FEAR of pain, FEAR of failure, FEAR of loss, FEAR of being hurt, FEAR of people not liking me, FEAR of being a bad mother, FEAR of food, FEAR of starting new things, and pretty much FEAR OF EVERYTHING!!!!!
One of the first statements Chris Powell ever said to me was, "Action conquers fear". Chris and Heidi have shown me many times that if you just take that FIRST STEP into that thing you fear.... when you ACT and you are IN THE THING YOU ARE AFRAID OF that the fear goes away!!!! And it is SO TRUE! So if it scares you a little bit....GOOD!!!!! ACTION CONQUERS FEAR!!!
I won't pretend that I have it 100% together and figured out, because I don't. I still try to push past fear every single day. (This week it was fear of box jumps and next week could be sky diving.. who knows!?!?) Some fears are greater than others and some fears hang on tight. My fear of food and slipping back into disordered eating is one I will probably continue to struggle with (therapy helps!), also my fear of dating and relationships (that one is tough...but I am working on it) Even my insane and unrealistic fear of crosswalks.... (yeah, I know it is weird) has gotten much better this year! :) :)
My tips for pushing past fear: Find your mantra (see my blog post about finding it), Remind yourself that it is only scary at first - ACTION CONQUERS FEAR - once you are DOING what scares you your fear will turn into success, Do it more than once - (Extreme Weight Loss Season 4 Kenny O'Neal taught me this) ANYONE can push past fear once... but it takes someone brave to do it again and again! (THIS is how I got through box jumps at Red Rocks this week!!!! I had Kenny's voice in my head and some amazing cast mates and friends cheering me on! I did 4 jumps.... and probably 87 thousand attempts... LOL) Celebrate success - give yourself permission to feel like a bad ass! Be proud of pushing through fear! Keep reminding yourself "I can do hard things. I can do scary things. I've GOT THIS!"
Put your pearls on and PUSH THROUGH FEAR!!!!!! :)
xoxo,
Pearls