Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway

“Don’t ever make decisions based on fear. Make decisions based on hope and possibility. Make decisions based on what should happen, not what shouldn’t.” - Michelle Obama

Have you ever read the book, “Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway?”

As I’ve had extra time to read while I recover from surgery I’ve been trying to switch off between light, beachy reads and business books. I just finished the book “Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway” and wanted to share with you a few quotes with you.

-“Taking responsibility means never blaming anyone else for anything you are being, doing, having, or feeling.”

-“Every time you encounter something that forces you to “handle it,” your self-esteem is raised considerably. You learn to trust that you will survive, no matter what happens. And in this way your fears are diminished immeasurably.”

-“Pushing through fear is less frightening than living with the underlying fear that comes from a feeling of helplessness.”

-“You may be surprised and encouraged to learn that while inability to deal with fear may look and feel like a psychological problem, in most cases it isn’t. I believe it is primarily an educational problem, and that by reeducating the mind, you can accept fear as simply a fact of life rather than a barrier to success.”

My daughter went to an escape room yesterday with some friends. She was spooked by it and had a hard time falling asleep last night. When I googled how to help kids with fears, one of the top things on most articles/lists was taking deep breaths. It reminded me why our yoga practice is so important. When we teach kids at young age what a deep breath feels like in their body, it can help them tackle so many situations. Maybe you aren’t feeling fearful this week, you can work on your deep breaths so that when you are, you already know how to take those deep breaths and change your mindset.

Affirmation for the week: I am safe. I am loved. (And it if’s bedtime you can add, I’m about to fall asleep.) This our nightly affirmatios we do with our kids.

I hope whatever it is that you are fearful of this week, you’ll take a chance, trust yourself and take small steps towards “doing it anyway.”