A lot of the time I hear people say, ‘I can’t do that because …’ and here you can insert any of the many reasons it could go wrong. This is something which also comes up a lot when I am working with my clients.
If we are honest with ourselves, I think we have all felt like this at some point in our life. It may have been a one off or it may be something we battle with day in and day out, either way, it has impacted on our life in one way or another and stopped us doing something we really wanted to do. Sometimes the reasons not to are really valid and we have this reaction to keep ourselves safe, however sometimes we get muddled and let this fear, the fear of change, the fear of doing something outside of our comfort zone, stop us doing things which will help us grow and learn and build a different life.
You may already know, but at the ripe old age of 29 years old, I rented out my house, quit my job and went travelling for a year. However, before I went, I heard the many cries of ‘You can’t do that…what if…’ (again insert the numerous things which could have gone wrong), what if you something goes wrong, what if you lose your house, what if you get hurt or die, what if… the list went on.
The thing is, I had of course considered all of those things, some of them are pretty scary, the idea of being in a faraway land and something happening to me. The sad thing is, the more I heard others confirming my fears, I almost listened, I almost didn’t go.
Whether it is in our personal lives or in our business/work lives, we constantly face decisions and go through the process of weighing up the options, sometimes we don’t do something we really want to, just in case… something goes wrong, this probably sounds familiar to you. Even as I write this, I have a sinking feeling in my tummy, you may be feeling it too, for me that sinking feeling is the thought of what I could have missed out on, what am I missing in my life, what didn’t I do because of the what ifs?
That feeling is something way more scary to me than taking a leap of faith, that feeling to me is regret…
For me the ‘What if in a few years I regret my decision not to take that chance, that opportunity to follow my heart and live my dream of travelling the world’ was way stronger than the fear of what may go wrong, and this can translate into many areas of our lives.
I was scared of, what if I wake up at 70, 80, 90 years old and think, what made me not live my life to the full, what made me stop making that decision and taking that chance, now I don’t know about you, but for me, that really is scary!
So I urge you next time you think of all the many things which could, but probably won’t, go wrong take a step back have a look at the options and dare to imagine, what could go right?
Wow!
How exciting is that, all those wonderful opportunities and possibilities or what could go right, if only we dare to back ourselves, to take that chance and face our fears! After working with me, when my clients turn things around and think about what could go right, their lives begin to change, their confidence grows and they see opportunities, not obstacles!
I went travelling for a year despite the doubters and the naysayers, despite my own fears and concerns, it took a huge amount of courage, but guess what it was the most amazing year of my life and I don’t regret it for a second. Nearly everything went right, in fact most things went amazingly well and more right than I could have ever hoped for, very, very little went wrong and these things happen wherever you are in the world and not many of us go through a year with no hiccups! I even wrote a book about it called ‘You Can’t Do That! WATCH ME!’.
If you are scared of what could go wrong and want to explore what could go right, and feel like you would like some help, do please get in touch for an informal, no obligation chat, or maybe even book yourself an introductory session, 30 minutes of your time could just change your life!
Until next time!
Emma
