{"id":41653,"date":"2016-06-28T12:11:53","date_gmt":"2016-06-28T20:11:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=41653"},"modified":"2017-05-27T08:49:21","modified_gmt":"2017-05-27T16:49:21","slug":"how-to-face-your-fears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/how-to-face-your-fears\/","title":{"rendered":"The ONE Thing You Need To Know To Face Your Fears"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You\u2019re strong.<\/p>\n

You can do it.<\/p>\n

In the face of hardship and frustration, such words of encouragement are useless.<\/p>\n

When everything seems scary and impossible, we don\u2019t feel strong and we don\u2019t feel like we can do it. We feel like we\u2019re not good enough.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how I used to feel a month back. And that\u2019s how I had felt for quite a while before it all changed.<\/p>\n

No, I didn\u2019t become stronger. I found out that I don\u2019t need to be.<\/p>\n

Here is what happened:<\/p>\n

In a recent article on my blog<\/a> I revealed to the world (and myself) for the first time my fear of driving. In short, that\u2019s not the fear you\u2019d expect – I wasn\u2019t afraid of using a car, but rather of the possibility of failure. I was afraid that I was going to be a crappy driver and I was making up excuses to never practice.<\/p>\n

This had been going on for about 8 years.<\/p>\n

Finally, I decided to face my fear, and for me this means writing about it.<\/p>\n

I wrote the article and even while publishing it I felt that I\u2019ve taken a huge step towards embracing and overcoming this fear of failure.<\/p>\n

But, as you might read at the end of the article, I wasn\u2019t even close to ready to get behind the steering wheel.<\/p>\n

Then something changed. And the funny thing is, it wasn\u2019t me.<\/p>\n

Take My Hand\u00a0to Facing Your Fears<\/h1>\n

After I published that article I received an avalanche of emails, messages on social media and retweets from people who encouraged me to give it a try.<\/p>\n

For example, my fellow writer, Alan Marsden<\/a>, messaged me on Twitter saying that once I start driving I\u2019d \u201cnever look back. (except when reversing).\u201d<\/p>\n

My family and friends talked to me about it and shared their experiences.<\/p>\n

After hearing one of my excuses that \u201cI don\u2019t need a car or to drive anyway\u201d my friend pointed out that I didn\u2019t know<\/em> that I needed it. She told me that I didn\u2019t know what I was missing.<\/p>\n

A friend who I met online thanks to an article I wrote and published online, Sree, shared his personal story about his own fear of driving, how it came true and how he still found the strength to keep going.<\/p>\n

Even my own husband finally realized how serious my issue is and started taking me for a drive almost every day after work. I<\/em> was driving.<\/p>\n

Surrounded by all the examples, support, love, encouragement and energy of these people I drove our car.<\/p>\n

I felt like I\u2019m flying on the wings of a crowd that truly cared about me.<\/p>\n

I grabbed the steering wheel and I did it.<\/p>\n

And I was horrible. Or at least I felt so. But it didn\u2019t matter because joy had taken over my brain. I was sweating, my mouth was dry, my heart was pounding out of my chest,\u00a0and my left leg was shaking like it\u2019s bongo time. Those of you who have used a manual car will know why.<\/p>\n

I did it. I faced my fear.<\/h1>\n

I was so proud of myself.<\/p>\n

After my first attempt my husband even said that I was way better than he had expected because we didn\u2019t crash the car.<\/p>\n

And then it hit me-it wasn\u2019t me who was driving. It was a crowd of people who had encouraged me, helped me and shared their stories and experiences with me.<\/p>\n

They gave me the courage. They showed me that I was not alone. That I didn\u2019t have to face my fears all by myself.<\/p>\n

Each one of them was right there with me in that car. And it was okay to have them hold my hand while I was turning the key in the ignition.<\/p>\n

I felt so strong. I felt so powerful. And yes, finally, I felt that I can do it.<\/p>\n

But not because I was better or stronger or more resilient. Rather, because I knew so many people loved me and cared about me.<\/p>\n

I knew that they, too, have walked this walk and they, too, have felt the same fear, doubt and insecurity. After I realized that, there was nothing that could stop me because that would mean I\u2019m letting them down.<\/p>\n

I drove the car by myself but I was standing upon the shoulders of a crowd of people who did it before me. I can never say I did it alone.<\/p>\n

And you know what? That\u2019s okay. I might have never gotten on the driver\u2019s seat if it wasn\u2019t for the helping hands and words of people around me.<\/p>\n

I learned that I didn\u2019t need to do it all by myself.<\/p>\n

What about you? Have you forgotten the one thing that matters when facing your fears – that you don’t need to do it all by yourself?<\/p>\n

In hope that you agree that we were never meant to be <\/em>alone, I share with you the profound African proverb that has recently become my favorite:<\/p>\n

If you want to go fast, go alone,<\/em><\/p>\n

If you want to go far, go together.<\/em><\/p>\n

Keep driving, keep going, and remember-there are four seats in a car, you don\u2019t need to drive by yourself\u2026.<\/p>\n

Antonia\u00a0<\/span>Zorluer<\/span>\u00a0is a designer,\u00a0<\/span>writer,<\/span>\u00a0content marketer, and the inventor of The FiveBand<\/a>. She writes for businesses at work and for pleasure at her personal happiness blog\u00a0<\/span>mintyhideout.com<\/span><\/a>\u00a0where you can find inspirational stories and tips on using writing for a better life. She loves to connect and talk happiness and writing on\u00a0<\/span>Twitter<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Google +.<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Something important that you might be forgetting when facing your fears. You don’t need to do it all alone. And seeking help is the most wonderful thing! Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":42281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[205,9,112],"tags":[2074,5292,4653,4043,871,46,4631,66,207,4629,408,5215,5216],"yoast_head":"\nThe ONE Thing You Need To Know To Face Your Fears<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Something important that you might be forgetting when facing your fears. You don't need to do it all alone. 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