FEAR FACTOR
At the beginning of my sophomore year in High School, my English teacher gave us a major assignment. We had to read a book, write a book report and give an oral presentation. She said that it would be a huge part of our grade. There was one small problem with this; I was too afraid to speak in front of any size group! I discussed this with my teacher, and she said that it was non-negotiable. I would have to do the oral part or fail the assignment and with my current grade (I had a D, but don’t tell my Mom) it would mean failing the entire year! I thought about this long and hard—face 5 minutes of terror or fail an entire year of English? I gladly took the F and sat in class like a big chicken!
Fear is a Bully! It will dominate our lives if we allow it. Once we give into our fears, it gets easier and easier to quit. I allowed the fear of public speaking to control my life up until I was 42 years old! That’s a long time to be afraid and avoid any chance of facing my fear. From my sophomore year on, I had many opportunities to stand up to my bully, but my response was always to run and hide.
That all changed when one of my mentors told me that if I wanted to grow up and be an adult, I would have to face my fear by joining Toastmasters (a group that helps people get over their fear of public speaking). This was incredibly hard to do and the first year I was terrified, and there were a few nights I could not sleep! The fear is still there but now it’s very small and I’ve learned, with lots of support, how to use that fear to my benefit. What are your bullies? Are you allowing your fears to steal from your life? Let me know the fears you’ve faced at edcarcarey.com. I say it’s time to face them and take back your life, career, relationships and dreams! Next week we will discuss how to face a bully and win.
Find your Passion and you will find your life!