Playing Offense

If you look deep into your heart, into your soul what is it that you truly want? Seriously think about it. I will wait.

I just read that opening line again and a song lyric popped into my head. “Tell me what you want, what your really, really want” by the Spice Girls. YES, I had to look that up! Sorry… I digress!

How many answers have you come up with? One? Three? Five? Zero?

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

Some of us keep out true desires hidden so deep that we wouldn’t be able to identify them if a gun was pointed at our head. Some of us know what we truly want but can only voice it internally and occasionally whisper it out loud. Some of us know it in our soul but have so many obstacles in our path that we believe it simply isn’t possible.

When you can hone in on a true desire and feel in your bones that you must find the path that leads there, fear has a tendency of stepping in. Fear is playing defense and intercepting the ball. Fear’s job is to maintain the status quo, to keep you on the straight and narrow. Fear wants your tuckus firmly planted on the couch.

Stop letting fear be your guide. Stop turning the ball over to the defense.

I am learning (slowly) to stop thinking of fear as a bad thing. Just because I am afraid of something doesn’t mean I shouldn’t go for it. I am learning the opposite is true. The more I fear something, the more I truly want it. The more I fear something, the more I know it is the right decision and I must find a way to get on the path to obtain it. I think this counts as one of my AHA moments!

In the past, I told you to “Kick Fear Out of the Way” and I love that post. But maybe instead of kicking it, we should listen to it. Fear is telling us something AND what it is saying isn’t necessarily true. Listening to it and figuring out its motivation might help us realize the truth.

When fear says no, maybe, maybe it wants us to convince it that the answer it YES. When fear says hell no, maybe we need to convince it the answer is HELL YES!

Journaling is my best way to convince fear that I am in charge. I am getting better about getting on paper what is stuck in my head and I am getting better about journaling my thoughts to get to the good decision.

So don’t let fear stop you. Let fear challenge you, to motivate you. Play offense to fears defense. Some ways to do this are:

• Write out the worst case scenario for whatever move you are contemplating. Give some thought as to how you could tackle each of the road blocks fear is tossing at you.
• List the Pros and Cons of going for your dream. How can you amplify the good and minimize the struggle?
• Think about times in the past you have gone for a dream and what steps were helpful. How can you copy some of those positive moves now?
• Have a discussion with someone who will support your dream. Say your fears outloud to them. Sometimes speaking your fear helps you hear how silly it really is.

Go take the ball back from fear and play some offense. It is time to advance the ball in the direction of your dreams. Time to get off the couch!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!

Lake Girl