Fear grips you from the inside out, stilling your breath or making it labored. Your blood pressure rises, your heart beats faster. Fear cripples you from stepping forward and leaves you feeling as though your feet are stuck in quick sand, falling further down, behind; or in cement, stuck and unable to move.
The feeling inside is almost indescribable. It pulses through you, jittery, unnerving you. You feel almost numb. Your knees get weak and you stumble a bit, almost falling. Nausea washes over you as the blood slips out of your head, causing you to sway and almost faint.
Fear is ugly.
But fear allows you an opportunity for growth.
Once you take the first step forward, pulling those heavy feet out of the quick sand, nothing else changes.
But as you move more in the direction of facing what you fear, and you arrive to face it head-on, you feel stronger, more empowered. Your breathing returns to normal upon realizing this fear was nothing to be feared in the first place. Your blood circulates your entire body; no longer do you feel an urge to pass out. Your heart beat steadies and your feet feel lighter.
The accomplishment of facing and conquering your fears is the silver lining to fear. Without fear at all, there would be no achievement to gain.
Without goals and achievements, without the reward of accomplishing the next step – life would simply be black and white. There would be no silver.
There would be no confetti to toss in celebration of accomplishing something you once feared, without that ugly fear in the first place.
challenge: january 2014 