Scared!

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.

“Still trembling, Ordinary picked up his suitcase, turned his back on Familiar, and walked to the sign.  And even though his fear kept growing, he shut his eyes and took a big step forward – right through the invisible Wall of Fear.

And there he made a surprising discovery.

On the other side of that single step – the exact one Ordinary didn’t think he could take – he found that he had broken through his Comfort Zone.”
(From the book “The Dream Giver” – Bruce Wilkinson)

John Ortberg writes, “My story, like every human story, is, at least in part, the struggle between faith and fear.” Robert Kiyosaki states, “We all have tremendous potential and gifts.  Yet, the one thing that holds all of us back in some degree is self-doubt… It is excessive fear and self-doubt that are the greatest detractors of personal genius.” Our fears can make cowards of us all.  Fears conquered make heroes of us all!

“Everything we want is on the other side of fear.”

Many of the most enriching experiences in life will follow a time when we choose to walk through a specific fear, yet some people will do almost anything to avoid their fears.  But all successful people have been willing to take a chance.  They are willing to take a step of faith, trust their intuition and simply “go for it” in life. 

In his book “If you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat” John Ortberg asks, “What do you guess is the most common command found in the Bible?”  Surprisingly, it is not to be more loving, nor to be more giving, to avoid pride, or to serve others.  The most common command found in Scripture is to “Fear Not.”  Don’t be afraid.  Instead, God instructs us to be “strong and courageous.”

Fear is the primary reason why many individuals do not reach their potential, or live out their dreams.  Fear prevents one person from the commitment of marriage.  For another, the fear of financial failure prevents them from starting a business.  And yet another person may never make a career change because they fear leaving the security of their current position.  Fears paralyze our potential!

Pursuing our dreams & potential will always demand we step through our fears.  Our dreams will require us to take steps that lead us outside of our comfort zone and into the unknown.  Like when a person chooses to skydive for the first time, we must be ready to courageously step through our fears so we can experience the exhilaration of falling through the sky all by our self – riding on the winds of your dream.

Challenge: What specific fear is preventing you from growing today?