Feel the fear and do it anyhow…

Driving through the snow and mountains is very uncomfortable for me. Driving at night, through the snow, in the mountains, is very scary for me. As I’ve gotten older, my night driving vision is not amazing and quite frankly I don’t love driving fast (my family, aka sarcastic New Yorker partner, calls me Grammy when I am behind the wheel!).
 
The last holiday weekend my son and I had our annual family trip with some dear friends up into the mountains about two hours from where we live. We couldn’t leave until after school which meant the bulk of our driving was to be in the dark. Coupled with the fact that a blizzard was rolling in, I was extremely anxious and pretty scared.
 
Yet, I needed to get us there. I had to dig deep in myself, feel the fear, and do it anyway. It demanded that I stay present in the moment, aware of how I was feeling, and do whatever I could to stay resourced and grounded in my body. The situation also required that I work with my mind to not allow the fear, uncertainty, and anxiety take over and run the show.
                                             
I focused on my breath. I kept my thoughts optimistic, present, and empowering and actually enjoyed the drive with my son. We took our time and it was a lovely bonding experience. Once we made it over the pass, which was the most overwhelming party of the trip for me, I then treated us to a lovely meal.
 
We were connected. We were laughing. We had deeper level conversations.
 
I felt a newfound sense of ground in my nervous system after moving through this old fear. I realized I had been holding onto for a very long time and had actually been avoiding it…until then.
 
I made it to the other side, literally and figuratively… And, it set the stage for a profoundly connected and relaxing weekend ahead (and provided me with the platform to deal with the 10- hour drive back!).
 
The theme of the fear and doing it anyway has been bubbling up in me, around me, in witnessing clients working with their own fears, and feeling the energy that is swirling in the world on the whole right now…
 
Feeling what scares us, what exudes fear or anxiety or overwhelm, yet taking the steps that we know that we need to can be very uncomfortable. As we know, there is something so empowering about gaining the capacity to be with the discomfort of fear, anxiety, uncertainty, overwhelm, of doing something that we have never done before….and moving forward anyhow.
 
When we do so, we have the opportunity to access an entirely new level of being, of existing, of relating, and of moving through the world on the whole.
 
It is easy to become paralyzed by fear. I understand completely. Fear of failure, fear of crashing and burning, fear of the unknown, fear of feeling uncomfortable, fear of taking a good look at patterns that do not serve, fear of saying of doing the “wrong” thing, fear of success (!!)…the list goes on and on.
 
When we choose to tap into the fear that is swirling in us, and simultaneously choose to take the deep breaths and show up in the way that is in alignment with our truest selves, we access a depth of resilience and confidence that is immeasurable.
 
Whether you have a fear of driving through the mountains in the dark with snow blowing OR you are scared of having the conversation that you are needing to have no matter how terrifying it may feel OR choosing to pause (even though the fear is screaming in you!) rather than engage in an addictive or destructive behavior OR setting (scary!) boundaries that are needed with relationships that are no longer serving OR finally diving into some much needed (albeit daunting and scary!) personal work and healing….there is so much power, wisdom, and freedom available when we do feel that fear and do it anyhow.
 
Wherever you may be on your path of life…trust that you are exactly where you need to be. I truly believe that we are never given more than we can handle in ourselves.
 
Life is meant to be experienced, nudge us to grow, heal our woundedness, open us to new possibilities and perspectives, and teach us to cultivate the capacity to find comfort in the discomfort of this human existence. That is when our healing becomes magnified and we are able to take steps forward in profoundly empowering ways.
 
Perhaps this is the year that you are ready to dive into some personal work so as to find the platform from within yourself to show up and meet this precious life with your whole self on board.
 
I would be honored to be of guidance and support in any way.