Courage means you do it scared. This is such a great motto.
“Action spawns courage – not the other way around” – Marie Forleo
You can only get over your fear if you start doing something. If you want your anxiety to go away – you have to take action.
It seems counterintuitive, but it’s true.
We usually assume that others are naturally confident. And that we are the only ones who struggle.
But that’s not true. You just need the right strategy to get over your fear.
You can’t be brave without fear
Courage means that you are scared, and you do it anyway.
Think about it…
If you aren’t scared, you don’t need courage, right?
You just do it. There’s nothing to overcome.
But it’s a very different story when you’re worried, stressed, or scared of something you need to do.
It can be absolutely paralyzing…
And the longer you postpone it, the worse it gets.
Waiting around gives your mind time to come up with one terrible scenario after another.
You have a lot of imagination, and you will think of many ways how this could all go wrong.
Does that sound like a great strategy to find your courage?
That’s why you can’t sit around hoping that you’ll feel better with time.
- I’ll talk to him tomorrow
- Today was not the right day
- I’ll do it next week
- I’ll put in the request when I have more information
- Next time, I’ll stand up for myself
When something is uncomfortable, we tend to avoid it.
But guess what?
In the meantime, you’re still sitting with all this negativity. It won’t just magically disappear.
Doesn’t seem like a great plan…
Next time you feel scared, try a different strategy
“The scariest moment is always just before you start” – Stephen King
Knowing this, close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and calm your mind.
Then you do what you have to do…
You have to rip off the band-aid.
And it’s totally okay to take small steps if big steps paralyze you.
This allows your brain to register that “I’m an action taker”.
And once you see yourself as an action taker, you will take more and more action.
Again, the fact that you’re taking action gives you momentum.
And it motivates your brain to do other tasks, too.
Action builds confidence
“Don’t wait for your feelings to change to take the action. Take the action and your feelings will change”
It’s a misconception that only confident people can take action.
Most of the time, it’s actually the other way around.
It’s because you take action that your confidence level rises.
And then you’ll find out that it wasn’t that bad…
And the next time you’ll notice again that for some reason you didn’t die.
Not only that, you did rather well.
So, you’ll feel a little more secure. A little more sure that you can do this.
That’s how you build confidence.
We tend to think that other people, especially those we admire, were just born confident.
But that’s a myth…
The more you prove to yourself that you can do scary stuff, the more you get positive feedback.
And the more confident you’ll get.
Courage means you do it scared
You can’t wait until you’re more confident before you dare to take action.
‘Cause guess what? That’s not gonna happen.
It’s the action that gives you confidence.
Show up, put yourself out there and be amazed how much better you’ll feel with time.
You can do this.
You just need to believe in yourself enough to be able to prove it to yourself.
So, next time, instead of brooding and worrying, make sure you DO something.
You got this!
If you’d like to read more about this, you can find tips on ditching self-doubt here.
Happy action-taking,
Ninja
- The Joy Factor: The Secret Ingredient to Crush Your Goals - July 13, 2023
- Areas of Personal Growth – Focus on Just One - September 3, 2022
- Let No One Stop You From Following Your Dreams - August 13, 2022
