Dreams give us life. I think sometimes we underestimate what one person can be in this world—simply by doing what they were created to do.
For some, uncovering their dream is all they need to get started. They take immediate action and start to become the person they were created to be.
But for most it’s more complicated than that. In my 20 plus years of working with people and their dreams, there’s one resounding theme that comes up as soon as we even think about going for what we want....FEAR!
Fear comes in all different forms when it pertains to you and I going after our dreams.
Fear cages us.
It sneaks up on us.
It weaves itself into areas of our lives until we can’t remember what it was like to make a decision motivated by faith, hope and desire.
It takes work to fight fear. When we begin to fight the fear and face it head on, we find ourselves slaying it.
Here are 3 tips that can help you move from living a life of fear into a life of courage:
Take the actions you need to take. It starts one step at a time. The quickest way to overcome fear and gain self-confidence is by creating action. Have you ever noticed the longer you think about doing something, stress and anxiety creep in? You completely talk yourself out of it. Robert Frost said it best… “The only way around is through.”
Realize you are scared. You’re not stuck. In my best-selling book Keep Going, How to not give up on your dreams when things get hard, I talk about the difference between being scared and being stuck (p.79). These are two very different things. “Stuck is being pinned underneath a boulder in the middle of a desert. Anything short of that you are surrounded by opportunity.”
Shout out what you want and choose to let go. Let faith take the wheel. For years I knew what I wanted. But I was missing the most important thing: declaring to God what you desire and then putting it in his hands. This doesn’t mean standing back and being lazy. It means taking one action step after another. There comes a point in all of our journeys towards our dreams where things can get tough. I use “these tough times” as an opportunity to strengthen my faith. There has to be trust with that of a higher power or none of it truly works long term. This was the hardest for me to learn because I wanted control. I knew what was best. Don’t we all. I failed a lot.
The best part of overcoming fears is that you see failure in a whole different light. It starts off conquering one fear at a time.
Today, I challenge you to go after your fears ferociously. We all deserve to live a life of courage.
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Thank you so much Anna for inspiring us! Your book reminded me that dreams give us life, often involve other people, and allow us to change the world simply by doing what we’re created to do. It really helped me identify and prioritize what to do next in living my best, healthiest life. I love your encouragement that ‘You can do hard things!’ and frequently remind myself of this when I get overwhelmed or discouraged (and especially when I'm finishing a workout!).
Make sure to follow her at @annaennishatton on Instagram or Facebook.
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