You Can’t Fly Unless You Let Yourself Fall

​I have been afraid of falling my entire life. I’m scared to fall in love, of trying new things, of letting go, being who I am. I am scared of trying to please everyone, while changing who I am in the process, of being honest and scared to go after what I want. 

Throughout our lifetime, we will be given many opportunities but being scared to fail, will stop us in our tracks. There are so many things I’ve wanted to do but let the fear of failing, stop me. Fear can be a powerful thing but so can taking control back into our lives. “Everything we want is on the other side of fear” is the truest statement. We are so scared to fail, that we don’t even try. We stop ourselves from failing and in doing so, we don’t even give ourselves a chance to succeed.

I’ve wanted to be an inspirational speaker my entire life. I wanted to share my story around the world and write books to inspire others but I find myself becoming hesitant. I know what I want to say, do and produce but I let the thoughts of others, stop me. What if no one supports me? I want to be honest but I’m scared someone will get mad at me. What if I fail? What if the book doesn’t sell? What if no one cares about my story?

The question what if, is the structure for failure. One’s perspective can change the way we think. What if the book is a success? What if I inspire others? What if I help save lives? What if my friends and family love it? Changing the way we think, can help change the outcome. Being afraid to fail is natural but not trying at all, is doing an injustice to yourself. Forget about everyone else, this is your life and you have to do what makes you happy.

Not everyone is going to like you and not everything is going to go your way. You are going to be told no. You aren’t always going to get the job you want or the person you want every time. You won’t always be handed things. Life isn’t always fair but it’s what you do after, that matters. When you are told no about the job you wanted, keep searching and find another job you’re excited about. If you had your heart broken, let yourself heal and get back up and try again with someone new. If someone doesn’t like something you worked hard on and are proud of, focus on what you think about it and the positive support you're getting from the other people in your life.

Try to do something once a day, week or even month, that scares you. I’ve been slowly working every day on the things that hold me back in life. Taking baby steps will turn into bigger ones, until eventually fear within those acts, no longer apply.

Life is not always easy and you will have to work hard to get anywhere worth being in life but it is possible. Be resilient and keep trying. Take advantage of opportunities and push yourself to be great. Be your own motivator and get outside of your comfort zone. Let yourself fall head first, into the things you love and you will be amazed at how easy it is to fly.