What Could You Do If You Weren’t Afraid

What Could You Do If You Weren’t Afraid?

For this, you’re going to need paper, a pen, a black marker of some kind, and a highlighter. Any color you want.

Have you ever wondered just exactly where you would be if you took every opportunity offered to you? Putting aside for the moment that not all opportunities are good ones, let’s just think for a moment. If you were brave enough to take every opportunity that came your way and it resulted in a massive win for you, where would you be right now?

Let’s back it up a moment and think a little smaller. If you had stuck with everything you attempted to learn, where would you be right now? Would you be a professional artist? Would you have over 100 books published? Maybe you would be the CEO of a multi-million-dollar company. The possibilities seem endless when you look at it that way, don’t they?

What is stopping you from achieving these dreams? Yes, if you had started 20 years ago, you’d be somewhere different now. But in 20 years, do you want to look back and think “Man…I should have at least started,”? It’s time to take back the lost time and start.

What is your biggest dream?

What is your biggest dream right now? I don’t mean who you thought you wanted to be ten years ago. You’re a different person now. Who do you want you to be in ten years? Do you have more than one? Write them down. Get out the biggest piece of paper you can find, and start writing. It doesn’t matter how stupid or pointless it happens to be. No one will see this but you. Write until your hand cramps. Write until you run out of paper and then get another piece and keep going. Write until you run out of words to write. Get everything out on paper so you can see it.

Got it? Now, start eliminating. There are obvious things that may be exciting to think about, but at the end of the day, you know you just aren’t that interested in. Cross those off with the marker. We’re not just eliminating the things that won’t serve us, we’re eliminating distractions too. Focusing on the wrong goals will just delay finding the right ones.

Once you’ve eliminated the goals you aren’t going to pursue, go back through and make sure you haven’t eliminated anything out of fear. It’s okay to say, “This would be fun, but I don’t have a real passion for it.” But when we eliminate out of fear, we will miss our opportunity once again. So, make sure you’ve only crossed out the goals that are clutter.

The next step is to pick the top five goals you want to achieve. Highlight them and list them in order of importance to you, with one being the most important and five being the one that can wait.

Now, get a clean piece of paper and write your goal at the top in thick, black letters. Decorate accordingly, if you like.

Why haven’t you done it yet?

Fear is a valid answer. But there is more to overcoming fear than just recognizing it. You must find the root cause of that fear so you can find the lie and fight it with the truth. Write down the main fear that is keeping you from moving forward with this dream. Beneath that fear, there is a lie that you believe. Find the lie. Write it down too, and then find the truth. Share this lie with someone you trust, if you’re having a hard time finding the truth. Talk to your best friend, your favorite sibling, or your mom. Anyone who will help you see the truth. Write down everything they tell you.

What’s holding you back?

Once you know what lie you have believed, write it down beneath your goal. And underneath that, write the truth. Keep this piece of paper where you can see it when you’re working on your goal. Every time that lie starts to creep in, remind yourself of the truth. And when new fears come to try and stop you, write them down, find the lie, and counter it with the truth.

What could you do if you weren’t afraid to try?

If you weren’t afraid, what could you accomplish? What dreams could you make come true? Who would you be if you weren’t afraid to step out of your comfort zone? It is time to take your life and dreams back. Dance like no one is watching because no one is, create with confidence, and live without fear.