Venturing into the unknown.

Yesterday I tried something I had never tried before… and it felt great!!! So great in fact, that I asked myself, “What is it that kept me from doing it earlier?”

Cheer up… It’s never that serious 🙂

Photo credits:- Alfie Ciru

Doing something we are not used to has  never been easy. I remember I had the idea of starting a blog early last year, but I always hesitated out of fear. All of us have our own different reasons why we fear and some may include:

1. Thinking we are not good enough.

Every time we consider doing something new, say start a business or speak in front of a crowd, there’s always that small voice in the back of our mind telling us, “You are so going to mess up!! Just don’t bother”. This is the voice of doubt that lingers on until we either give up or overcome it and face our fears. It mostly sprouts from low self-esteem or just shyness.

2. Being told it’s impossible.

How many times have you failed to start on an adventure because your family, friends, teachers or mentors told you that you will not be successful? One man’s meat is another man’s poison they say. Simply cause it didn’t work for a person or two doesn’t mean it won’t work out for you.

3. Being content.

As long as things are going just fine for us, we tend to relax and just take things as they come. We get afraid of diving into unknown waters. Problem is you might miss out on being a ‘billionaire’ since you are comfortable with the ‘few millions’ you have.

 

But you see, we were made for greater things. We were not created to sit back and be contented. I even think it goes against the human nature to feel satisfied. It’s normal to want more as long as we don’t get greedy. You shouldn’t let your shyness hold you back. As each of us is special, there’s that one thing we can do better than most people. The one thing that prevents our greatness is the fear of the unknown. As kids we would watch a movie or cartoon and we always knew that the scary things are always inside the closet. But behind that closet could also be awesome designer clothes, shoes and accessories.

The closet doesn’t have to be dark and scary.

 

YOLO!!! I love this phrase. It always comes to mind when I want to do something but I am afraid. Have you ever tried bungee jumping or sky diving?.. I haven’t. But I intend to one day. Then questions like, “What if the rope breaks? What if my parachute malfunctions?” come to mind. Evidently if any of these happens, I’d be dead. But I trust that all will go well and I will live to be old enough to tell my grandkids that I did it all. They’d think I am so cool !!! *giggling in excitement*.

Listening to people’s advice is a good thing. But only take the positive criticism. Research about what you intend to do and when you know all the facts, confide in someone close to you to seek their opinion. This may be bad advice but; when someone keeps telling you not to do something you really want to do and when you try to reason with them you keep arguing, just nod and agree with them… then go ahead and do what you want!

The unknown should not be so scary. It should be taken as an adventure. Let it be a challenge, like the amazing race or something. Through the hardships push yourself to test your limits. You’d never know, it could be the best decision you’ve ever made!!!