I recently read a great book by Osho called “Courage: The Joy of Living Dangerously” and was deeply impressed by this notion: that what we are afraid of doing is exactly what we need to be doing. This line of thinking quite simply holds the truth of human evolution.
When we just do the things we know and the things that are safe, we don’t really grow. In this state of living in a world kept just right, we actually are living in a world that keeps us sitting in a snug little box and knowing that we’re alright…nothing fearful, nothing out of left-field…and nothing new.
I can’t claim to be an expert at always doing what I’m afraid of, but I continue to reflect back and see that the times in my life where I’ve grown are those times that I did something that ‘I’ just normally wouldn’t have done. I’ll share just a few examples from my own life and perhaps you will find resonance with them.
It is 2004 and I’m living in Arizona, uncertain of where I’m going or what I should be doing to move forward in my life. I feel a strong urge to be doing something different than what I am, but am fearful of stepping into unknown and uncharted waters. What I am wanting to do is move to a place that I can get an acting career going and I have California on my left and New York on my right.
To cut to the chase of this story: I decide that I need to go to a place that will really test me and take me far away from where I am.
California is too close and feels like a safer move, allowing for retreat if I fail. So I move to New York, and the journey from that decision has altered my entire life path. I’m now a musician, have some amazing friends and mentors and feel I am moving into new directions as I stay open to change and try to remind myself to keep doing what I’m scared of.
Next example is this:
I’ve been wanting to gain more control over my own web-design but have felt overwhelmed and afraid of getting into it. Justification: because there’s just too much to learn. Funny how you can know you’re avoiding something that you want to do, yet will continue to avoid it and not take action.
So the short of this long is thus: I decide to stop wetting my toes with just creating html tages and embrace that I can learn as I go along by finding some good resources to teach me. I’ve now just finished coding my 4th page and this one uses css to boot. Now I’m not an expert coder yet, but I feel incredibly empowered by looking at the results of what just a little bit of stepping into the unknown can yield.
These are just two examples that popped into my head…I hope that in reading this you will make a conscious choice to begin or continue to face your fears, get outside of your comfort zone and find your true growth potential. I’ll include a link in the footer here for you to check out some of my coding pages (nothing too fancy, but it’s a great start)!
Andrew Hand is a singer/songwriter, composer, author and producer in NYC. He seeks to convey a message of positive thought and empowerment to others through direct communication, truth and authenticity.
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