WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WERENT AFRAID?

October 16th, 2016

Don't let fear hold you back from living a healthy life

TODAY I WOKE UP THINKING ABOUT

FEAR and I wondered what I would do if I wasnt afraid.  You know the kind of question Im talking about a true Tony Robbins kind of question.

What would you do if you werent afraid? I asked this question of my friends on Facebook not so long ago and today it was still on my mind.  Lesli, what would YOU DO if you werent afraid?

Go ahead, ask yourself that question in the still quietness of your morning and see what comes to your mind.  For me, I hate to admit it, the list was long.  Thats a hard thing to admit because I dont see myself as a fearful person.  OK, I have all the ordinary fears jumping out of a plane, roller coasters, scary movies, etc.  But in the cool quietness of my morning, I had to admit to myself that because of fear there are some key areas of my life where Ive taken myself out of the game; quietly benched myself; put my talents on the shelf; put the proverbial bushel over my light.

Remember in the movie Dirty Dancing, where Patrick Swayzes character said nobody puts Baby in a corner?  Well, nobody had to put me in a corner.  I put myself there.  Quietly. Unobtrusively. Safely.

Behind the excuses, laziness, procrastination, practicality, realism, and other guises lies the fear that keeps me safe ahem I mean holds me back. I am afraid of being disappointed.  Call it the fear of dashed hopes. Call it the fear of having my dreams turn to ashes. Call it the fear of failure.

What?  Fear of failure?  That cant be it. I rallied to myself!  Im NOT afraid of failing! Who on earth could be afraid of failing. Without failure, theres rarely success.  Dont we all want success?  Me too!  Me too!

Fear of failing!  How ridiculous!  Or was it?

  • If I fail, people might mock me.
  • If I fail, I might be embarrassed.
  • If I fail, people would see my imperfections (God knows I try to keep those well hidden).
  • If I fail, I might get hurt, disappointed, discouraged.
  • If I fail, __________ well you can imagine how many more blanks I could fill in.

FEAR.  What WOULD I do if I wasnt afraid of failure?

If I wasnt afraid, could I be my true, authentic, glorious self?  Could I strip away the masks, burn the costumes, tear down the facades, discover the real root emotions that make me do what I do?  And not do what I dont do?

If I could learn how to deal with disappointments, if I could learn to lose without being defeated, would I dare to step out of my safe corner?


Lose your fear of failure and lose weight


ITS TIME TO FACE MY FEARS HEAD ON!

Easier said than done, I suspect, but I say screw fear!!!!!   Seriously!

  • Im the girl who walked across a 25 bed of hot burning coals at a Tony Robbins Breakthrough weekend!  If Id acted on my fear, I would have been burned.
  • Im the girl who walked across an equally long bed of broken glass at a Marshall Sylver event.  If Id acted on my fear I would have been cut.
  • Im the girl who bent a 5 long piece of rebar (you know, the steel bar thats used to increase the strength of concrete) using nothing but the clavicle of my neck against the clavicle of my sister, Karens neck.  If Id acted on my fear, I could have severed my windpipe or hers.
  • Im the girl who has broken wood planks using nothing but my bare hands.  If Id acted on my fear, I could have broken my hand.
  • Im the girl who swam with the sharks WITHOUT a shark cage! OK, that might have been stupid, but I did it!

AND Im the girl who took myself out of the game.

SCREW FEAR!


Fear - Put Your Big Girl Panties On


Its time to start believing in myself completely!  It will be a project. I suspect it wont happen overnight just because I say screw fear.  But it CAN happen if I put my big girl panties back on and use the same tenacity and faith that I used to get myself to do all those daring things I just told you about.

The Bible says, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:)  That means when I surrender to fear, I can be sure the fear did not come from God.  God does not give us the spirit of fear. God gives us the spirit of power and love and a sound mind.

Im reading a great book called Hours of Power by Robert Schuller, and in it he says

If you will learn how to be disappointed without being discouraged, you need never be defeated. Youll never experience final failure. You will set higher goals. You will try again. When you realize that the worst that can happen is that you may have to face disappointment, then you will be transformed from a doubter to a believer, from a negative thinker to a positive thinker.

Todays post was a long ramble about whats been on my mind. I see a life changing shift directly in my future.  This blog and the honesty it will take is one thing I would do if I wasnt afraid! I gotta admit its scary! What if you dont like seeing all the broken parts in me? The things only God can heal.

What if I fail on a great big public stage? What if I have to pick myself up dust myself off and start all over again?

Or what if it all goes right! What if I find genuine friends who want to be on this weight loss journey with me? What if I meet amazing women who can see all my brokenness and love me anyway? What if I can help them too? What if this is what God called me to do?  What if I wasnt afraid?

I dont know, but I do know I was created for greatness and so were you!  Lets say screw fear and live to the full extent of ALL that we were created to be!  Healthy, loving, vibrant reflections of grace, for starters.

Thanks for letting me share my heart today :)

LIVING WITH AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE IS A POWERFUL THING. FIVE THINGS IM GRATEFUL FOR TODAY

  1. A blog where I can express myself.
  2. An opportunity to live life on my terms in any given moment.
  3. Friends who love me through my failures and pick me back up.
  4. Do-overs.
  5. The knowledge that God is my king of kings and He has not given me a spirit of fear.

SO WHAT ABOUT YOU?

What would you do if you werent afraid? If youre feeling brave, leave a comment and share your heart.

My hope for you today May you fall in love with your beauty, grace, honor, courage and strength.

Heres to Peace, Love, and Moving Though the Fear!


Lesli's Signature


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Jenn at A Girl Who Loves Cupcakes
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Jenn at A Girl Who Loves Cupcakes

Love this post Lesli! Its hard to get out of that corner once we put ourselves in it. I think its a great questions to continuously ask yourself everyday. Congrats on all of your accomplishments and heres to many more!

Lesli
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Lesli

Thanks Jenn :)

Jenn from A Girl Who Loves Cupcakes
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Jenn from A Girl Who Loves Cupcakes

I left you some love on my blog!

Lesli
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Lesli

Jenn, youre the sweetest cupcake girl I know :) ) Thanks for the love and I send it right back to you multiplied a hundred fold! You inspire :)

Bethany@ImperfectMom
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Bethany@ImperfectMom

I just stumbled across your blog from the BlogHer directory, and Im glad I did! This post really spoke to me-I allow fear too much power in my life.

Lesli
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Lesli

Thanks for sharing your feelings Bethany! That gives me the courage to live my life with transparency. Welcome to aHealthyKitchen.com.

Smiles,
Lesli :)

Brent
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Brent

Enjoyed the read, if I probe for the answers it will be an endless list. Most of all I guess if I wasn’t afraid of fears, I would have been much happier today!

Lesli
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Lesli

Wishing you a happy day Brent!

Sharon E Hohler
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Sharon E Hohler

Thanks for a true analysis; we often allow fear to cheat us out of a positive experience.
I have a quote from the New York Times taped to my computer (author unknown)
It says, Dont worry about failure. Worry about the chances you miss when you dont even try.

Lesli
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Lesli

I love that quote, Sharon!!! Thanks for sharing it :) And I also took a quick look at your blog and it looks like one Ill come back and visit when I have a bit of time. Thanks for connecting :)

shaun t insanity
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shaun t insanity

Awesome post.

Christi
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Christi

I loved this! I am absolutely amazed at the list of things you have done! You my friend are much stronger and braver then you think! We are our own worst enemy and create our own fear that puts us in a corner or on the side lines. I am seriously speaking from experience here. I love reading your blog and how honest you are Thank You!

Lesli
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Lesli

Awww thanks Christi! And thanks for checking out my blog. I hope youll come back often!

martie
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martie

Thank you Lesli for expressing your feelings that as I read I felt you were writing from inside me! I feel somewhere along the line, I moved into fear and want desperately to work past this dark place and be in and feel the light! God loves me! He is working in me and reading your words, He is working in you too. Thank you

Lesli
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Lesli

Sweet, sweet Martie, thanks for stopping by and sharing your heart. Im glad to know we relate on this level. Isnt it funny how were all so much the same the things that scare us that we try to keep hidden. Youre right God loves us completely wholly beyond our imaginings! Lets stop being afraid and try to live out His best vision for our lives! And lets get together for a walk sometime shall we?

Nola
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Nola

Its as if you looked into my heart and spoke my all thoughts and fears. Ive lived too long (47 years) letting fear control my every action or should I say inaction! Thank you for baring your soul so honestly. You are an amazing woman!

Lesli
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Lesli

Thanks Nola for being so honest about your own fears! Its so awesome to know were not ALONE, right?

Kathy
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Kathy

You have all inspired me to pull up my big and I mean big girl panties and push trough the fear. 57 years old and less self confidence than a 13 year old. I am on the road to losing a hundred pounds and working towards an exercise addict versus a food addict. Thanks for the inspiration. :)

Lesli
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Lesli

Whoo Hoo Kathy! Im so happy for you and I hope youll stop around here often and we can all keep each other going. Also, come on over to our Facebook page Losing It With Friends in A Healthy Kitchen target=_blank>Losing It With Friends in a Healthy Kitchen where I show up every day and share more time sensitive, even more intimate tidbits about my own journey.