Feeding Fearless with Daring

Am I feeding fearless or feeding fearful? The other day my friend reached out to see how I was doing and I confessed it depended on what part of the swing I was on that minute. My fearlessness and fearfulness are on opposite ends of that swing and it is CONSTANTLY moving.

If I’m not feeding my fearless, my fearful gains traction. I don’t even have to feed the fearful side. The world takes care of that.

If I’m going to live my bold and intentional life, then I have to find ways for feeding fearless. It turns out that daring intentional actions are key to feeding fearless pursuit of purpose.

#QuoteoftheDay

“I dare you.” Who didn’t hear that growing up at least once? I had brothers, and grew up in a neighborhood of boys, and had mostly boy cousins that I saw on a regular basis. Believe me, “dare you” was as common to hear as “what’s for dinner” around our house.

Because I was younger than most of them, they dared me a lot.

“I dare you to climb that pole.”

“I dare you to jump on the back of that horse.”

“I dare you flip off the bridge.”

And I did. I jumped. I climbed. And flipping became second nature to me. The more I dared, the more I dared to do.

But then I started encountering people who told me all the reasons I shouldn’t try. Even if I had successfully accomplished whatever they saw, they had reasons it couldn’t be done.

The more they fed my fears, the more I hesitated. Before long, I didn’t want to do anything at all, much less anything that took a little daring.

The Power of Fear

Fear may be a liar, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have the power to stop lives in their tracks.

Back in the heyday of my show garden, I agreed to help my sons start a business. They would dig and divide my flowers and then sell the extra at the local farmer’s market.

In an effort to help them jump start their endeavor, I went out early one morning to dig some plants for them to divide. Two plunges in, and I felt what I thought was a bite on my hand so I assumed I had hit an ant bed. Ants and I do not get along.

When I didn’t see any ants, I ran. I figured that it was better to find out from a distance what had caused me so much pain.

It was a good thing I did. From inside the house, I looked back at where I had left my shovel sticking up in the dirt. It was completely covered in yellow jackets.

A week later, I went to the opposite side of the garden to try again. This time, I knew instantly what hit my leg because it soon hit my other leg. I stripped all the way to the house. I’m fairly certain there was an arrow made of angry yellow jackets pointing at the door I escaped into.

Needless to say. I remember that buzzing noise, and it sends icicles of fear coursing through my body when I hear it now. Despite my safety sprints from the past, now I am stuck wherever I am when I hear the noise.

Don’t worry too much, though. I promise you I am not digging up any plants. I don’t even go to locations where there might be a possibility of an issue.

Fear can do that. When we encounter a hurt or problem, fear of facing something like it again will cause us to freeze.

Dealing with the Fear

I was getting my headshots updated and the photographer recommended we go down by the creek. There was a great log laying from bank to bank and a sandbar in front of it. All was going well when I heard the tell-tale buzzing.

Define the Fear Location

It didn’t take much looking around to find the entrance to their nest. It was plenty of distance from where we were photographing. Knowing where the danger was located, and the truth of the danger allowed me to keep going.

Intentional Choices

I made a change in outfits and we adjusted the frame. We were still by the creek, but not near the yellow jackets. I make the intentional choice to smile, pose, and keep going.

Remain Honest with Yourself and Others

The photographer recommended we hit back to the garden to catch the setting sun. I couldn’t. I had set my clothes down a little too close to the nest opening before I knew it was a nest opening. “There’s a yellow jacket nest over there. I can’t get my things.” She got them for me. Her fear of yellow jackets was not as debilitating as it was for me. With her help, I was able to keep going.

You have to define your fear, face it and be intentional about pushing through it, and then remain honest with yourself and with others. The fear may still be there, but facing fear will allow you to keep going.

Dare to try. Dare to climb. Dare to jump.

When you keep going, you’re feeding fearless instead of letting the fear hold you back.

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What fears are holding you back?

Share your ideas and thoughts on feeding fearless, and if you would like to read more about how I’m feeding fearless and when fear held me back, ask me for today’s post link!

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