Inspiration to Courage

Once I was with some friends on a hot afternoon. We decided to go swimming to cool off. I lived in a place where there was lots of water around from a river, lakes, and some bayous. We went to one of the bayous, where there was a bridge, and walked out onto the bridge. My friends quickly climbed over the railing and jumped into the water, but I hung back.

What is it that you are afraid to jump into? Are there things in your life that you would like to do, but you are afraid, for whatever reason, to make the leap? It can be one of the most horrible feelings. You want to do it, it feels right, and yet, you just can’t make yourself climb over that railing and step out into space.

I must have stood up there on that bridge for the better part of a half an hour. My friends were swimming to the edge, climbing out and jumping off the bridge again so fast I had lost count of the times they had gone. They didn’t tease me or say anything other than to encourage me to jump, because it was so much fun. It was only about fifteen feet to the water and I knew I could do it, I just couldn’t do it! I stood there sweating in the heat, wanted to jump, afraid to jump.

Is that how it is with you? Your friends encourage you to go ahead with your plan, you know you can do it, but you just can’t seem to make yourself go for it. You begin to think badly of yourself, knowing you have what it takes, except the courage.

While both of my friends were in the water and not looking at me, I finally got up the nerve to step out into nothingness. The short plunge to the water was terrifying and the water felt ice cold. When I surfaced, I felt several things. One, I was much cooler and two, I felt good about myself. It didn’t take me long to climb out and do it all over again. I jumped lots of times that day and never had a problem with it again. I managed a few belly flops, but it was fun!

What you want to do, what you are afraid to do, is not near as terrible as you think it is. Our minds love to tell us how awful things will be if we go ahead with our plans. The great thing about this is when we finally find the courage and are positive enough about ourselves to go ahead, we find that we grow inside. We become more the person we want to be. We become more the person we are meant to be. Suddenly, our lives become better and we are not so afraid of the world. Even if we do fail, it isn’t a failure if we stay positive; it is a success at learning how not to do it.

Today, decide that fear is not going to rule your life! It is for you to decide and for you to go forward. Life is not meant to be lived hiding and in fear of living. It is meant to be a creative expression. You can’t do that holding on to the railing!

Steve

P.S. Did you have second thoughts as you were deciding to go for it? Don’t worry, it’s natural. It is only your fearful self trying to stay safe. Go for it!