A to Z Challenge: Fear

Taking charge of your life is more than making a few decisions and just doing them. Like I mentioned, making and acting on decisions are really difficult. One of the biggest reasons is that you're going to have to start out without a reliable support system.

The other big reason is fear.

Not risk. Because a risk isn't technically an obstacle. It's actually nothing more and nothing less than the chance that something bad might happen. So no, it's not a risk that's keeping you back.

That honor goes to your fear alone.

Sometimes with good reason.

Fear kept me from changing majors in the beginning because I was afraid of what people I knew would think. (Incidentally the worst possible thing I had to fear.) Then came my fear of failing to succeed (not that I even had a clue of what success meant). Then came my fear for my financial stability.

But finances, I'm leaving for M-day.

The point is, there were serious fears in my life and I had to deal with them first before getting anywhere.

And let me tell you this. It takes a while. Addressing my fears and sorting out the after-effects of what I thought money was to me took about two years. It's really a big battle. I'll have post about this for I-day.

Difficult as the application may be, the concept of battling your fears is simple. It's the same process as making a decision, but with a little twist.

Since this is all about your fears, it's about you once again. What do you risk losing? What do you stand a chance of gaining?

To clarify even more, flip it around. If you stay where you are now, what do you have? What chances are you missing out on? In other words, what won't you gain because of missing that chance?

A good example I can think of comes from when I wanted to go into the arts. At that stage, I had a course that would give me some seriously good money if I stayed there long enough.

So obviously, doing something else would mean I'd lose my chances at getting a steady income. But if I did move on, I'd get a chance to do the things I'd always wanted to do.

And if I stayed, I would never get the time to do what I want.

To me, the fact that I'd always be chained to a desk in a career that's known for killing the people in it, without a chance of getting to do what I've always really wanted to do, just wasn't worth it.

And once you decide whether or not taking the risk is, you get to plan your strategy.

Prayer

Lord, 

I'm afraid, but I know You're here for me. Help me to address my fears, Lord. Please let me see the weights and balances of the risks to this decision. 

Guide me in realizing what You want me to do, and open my eyes so I can see just how insignificant my fears are in comparison. 

I pray this in Jesus's name. 

Amen.