What would you do if you had nothing to fear… Quit working and be a stay at home mom? Sell everything you own, buy a camper and travel across America; or hop a plane and go further than that to Bali or Australia? Would you create a new life for yourself?? I’m not a person with a lot of fear in my life. The only thing I’m really afraid of is getting hurt and heights. I hate roller coasters, being upside down, and falling because I don’t want to get hurt. I fell and hurt myself a LOT when I was a triathlete. I once woke up inside a CAT scan machine after falling off my mountain bike. Even after all the years I’ve done yoga regularly, I’m afraid to do the tricky poses that require a lot of balance, unless someone is right there to help catch me if I need it. Quite literally, I don’t want to fall on my face. So, my fear is tangible: I don’t like feeling pain so I’m afraid to get hurt. Pretty easy to avoid. What I’m not afraid of is failure, but I think a lot of people live with that fear all day every day. It is so pervasive. It’s not any less real than my fear of injury, but it is so much harder to overcome because it all boils down to your mindset. People have fears of losing their jobs, their houses, feeding their kids 3 meals a day… feeding themselves. Even though the economy has improved some in recent months, the fear of not being able to make it is totally legitimate. It’s a less tangible fear, but it feels so real for so many people. I still believe that you have to live like you have nothing to fear. If you’re staying in a job that you hate, that doesn’t fulfill you or make you happy in any way other than paying the bills, why stay? Because it’s secure? Employers can see when you don’t like what you’re doing. They can see it in your work, your behavior, your attitude. If you really hate job, it is NOT that secure. When I quit my job as a lawyer to become a yoga instructor, it was a little scary at first because I had no idea if I’d ever make the kind of money again. Look what my decision led to! I am living out dreams I didn’t even know I had until I let go of what wasn’t making me happy. If I hadn’t had the balls to leave the law firm, I’d probably still be there, with a thousand health problems, no daughter, no family life, and I’d look twice as old as I am. What’s the worst thing that could happen if you were to step outside your comfort zone? You’d fail - what’s so scary about that? You figure out where you screwed up, learn a bunch of lessons about what you did wrong, get back on the horse and try again. Maybe you’d have to take a job that doesn’t quite suit you to keep food on the table. It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve done that, right?? Don’t let a little failure stop you from living out your dreams. I know it’s not always as easy as just stepping outside your box. Getting out of an abusive relationship can be terrifying. Walking away isn’t an option, you have to RUN, and you have to have a really clear plan of action to get away from it. That is a fear of something, or someone, real and fear is a reasonable response to a situation like that. Sometimes, you’re stuck where you are because of finances. I get that. You don’t make enough money to pay the bills and save up, but to strike out and do what would make your heart sing, you’d need the time you’re spending at your current job to create the new way of life. But, are you putting the obstacles in your own way? Are you talking yourself out of opportunities because your body doesn’t know the difference between fear and excitement and somewhere along the line, someone taught you it was something to be scared of? What’s the worst thing that happens if you don’t go for it? You’ll never know how awesome your life might have been. When your best years are behind you, you’ll look back at all the years of stress and anxiety, how you let your fear control your life, and you’ll wish you could go back and change it. Willy Wonka (the Gene Wilder version) said it best: “But Charlie, don’t forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he always wished for…. he lived happily ever after.” XO Hayley Originally published on Positively Positive.