3 Ways to Become Brave

Fear is natural. We all struggle with it no matter who we are or where we come from. We have dreams of being writers, musicians, doctors, business owners etc. but our fears are standing in the way of us achieving that. We are afraid to put ourselves out there and being seen as we are. We are afraid of what others may think and the risks we need to take. However, the only way to grow and reach our full potential is to overcome those fears; our self-doubts. We need to take the bull by the horns and just do it! Here are my three ways to become brave.

1. Recognize Your Fears

Make a list of all the fears that are keeping you from achieving your goals. Is it the fear of failing? Is the fear of what others will think? The fear of being unrealistic? Not being good enough? Not being smart enough? List them all! This will give you insight on what is holding you back from achieving your goals.

And after you have completed your list you may be amazed at the realization that YOU are holding yourself back. All of these fears are inside your head. Most fears are self-doubt in disguise. You are smart enough, you are capable, and who cares about what other people think about you? What is most important is what you think about yourself. You are capable of learning and growing your skill set. You are capable of exceeding the limits that you think bind you. The only realistic setbacks you may have are finances and education. Both of these are difficult to get over but they can be overcome with some help.

2. Reflect

Now that you realize that you are holding yourself back, you can start to reflect on where these fears are coming from. For instance, do you want others approval because you fear letting them down or you feel incapable of knowing what is best for your life? Do you believe you are incapable because you didn't succeed the first time? Are you afraid of failing because you don't want to be considered a failure? Go through each fear you have on the list and rationalize with yourself why this form of self-doubt is not credible. For example, "Yes, I have failed before but I have learned from this. I continue to learn and grow my skill-set everyday and I am capable of succeeding."

With that being said, everyone has faults and that's okay! The simple fact that we are not perfect is what makes us human. The great thing about this is that we can overcome our faults. Progression is vital to reaching our full potential. If you have some faults such as laziness and procrastination, you can overcome them with discipline. I'm not saying it would be easy but it can be done! Character development is essential to achieve any goal.

3. Dive In

Make a detailed plan to give you direction on how to achieve your goals, and then do it! Forget about your worries and listen to what your heart is telling you. For instance, last year I was very much depressed. I wanted to start this blog but I didn't believe that I had enough knowledge about grammar or any subject in particular. I wanted to create a blog that would help people (particularly women) but I didn't know how to do it and didn't believe that I was capable of doing such things. I thought that I would be mocked for doing this and would be seen as a narcissist, "what makes me so special that I am capable of helping others in this way?"

Thus, I continued to procrastinate it. Then, one day I listened to a podcast that said to hone in on my passions in order to get through depression. I knew that I was passionate about mental health and at that moment I realized that I needed to make this blog, not just for other people, but for me. I needed to write for my own therapeutic needs. This gave me the push I needed to get over my fears and to conquer my depression. It was months later that I realized that I was the only one holding myself back.

Conclusion

My friends, there is no time like the present and the biggest fear we should have is fear of regret; regret of not trying. When we get older and we look back on our lives, we don't want to say, "Oh I wish I would have taken that dance class or went to nursing school." We want to look back on a life of bravery. We want to smile at the risks we took; the risks that made us who we are. A life of bravery is a life of happiness and passion.