Do Something Everyday that Scares You

Hi there.  My name is Amanda.  I'm a Type A personality; to many, I appear to be fearless and have my act together.  I love living, seek adventure and am building a business on navigating life's uncertainties to pursue one's dreams.  The truth is, I'm afraid a lot.  More than I care to admit.  And as a perfectionist, fear often stalls me from meeting my own high expectations.  Or enjoying full relationships w/ others who also don't meet them (yes, that was scary to write).   After a series of recent setbacks, I realize I need to do something about it.   

I'm learning that when we come upon a scary situation, we need to lean in to it, rather than away from it.  That is, unless that situation is a rattlesnake.... How do we lean in when it's so natural to ignore it or run?

I think the key is to keep moving through the fear.  Lately, however, I've been feeling stuck.  So I spoke with a wise and fabulous friend, Lisa, who challenged me yesterday to think beyond my fears in a very specific way (she was fighting her fears at the moment by taking trapeze lessons; now that's an idea...)

"Do something everyday that scares you."  - Eleanor Roosevelt and the Lululemon bag

Simple, right?   We decided we are both tired of being governed by fears that prevent us from living fully, and so we committed to take the quote's challenge on the spot.   For the month of June, we are doing at least one thing that scares us every day. Then we will share it with the other for moral support, accountability, and hopefully a few laughs.  How's that for kicking the habit of stagnating fear?!    

She upped the ante one step further and invited me to start a blog about it.  Hmm...I wasn't sure if I could match her bet (scared of failing, ho hum....).  So I talked w/ other friends about the idea.  They instantly wanted in on the challenge.  Ok, I can do a blog if it brings others along on this journey!   If you want to join Lisa and I in our challenge, here's what we do:

1.  Do one thing every day that we fear. Identify it and really do it.

2.  Take 2-3 minutes to write it down

3.  Share it w/ each other (Google doc or blog it for record...boomski!)

4.  No response required; this is a do-something-without-expectation-of-response kind of thing.  

GOAL:  Kick the stagnating "fear" habit in 30 days and LIVE more fully as we are designed.

I started today....

Scary thing I did today:  Committed to doing a personal blog :)

Bonus round:  Accepted a meeting to have a hard conversation I've been putting off.

Awesome thing:  Groupon Now massage...that wasn't scary.

What's yours?