On January 22, 2017 I wrote this essay titled Fear. A few months later it got published on Kind Over Matter, a website dedicated to being kinder to yourself and others.
The same fear I described last year is what holds so many of us back in 2018. How can we take action when we are being pulled under by quicksand?
“Fear says, No. Do not go. Stay here in my soft, soupy, glistening sand that slowly envelops your body in a nice, warm suffocating hug. Fear. Stuck. Not moving forward. Not taking risk. Fear says risk is dangerous. Stay here in my loving, stinky, sticky arms so that I may keep you in your place.”
Fear used to keep me from talking. I would stop me from speaking up. It would keep me from doing what I was put on this earth to do.
“Speaking my truth used to make me feel like I was choking. Like I was literally hanging from a rope unable to breathe. Fear is my own weapon that I use against myself in order to silence my words and force me into patriarchal submission.”
If fear is the thing that stops you from taking action, do these three things to move past it:
Write about it. Write a note to a friend, write on some paper, post about what makes you afraid on Facebook (how brave), write a text to your lover.
Get present. If you breathe into the feeling of fear it starts to lose its power. If you take a moment to stop trying to run away from it, feel your feet planted firmly on the ground, and take a big ass deep breath then you can move past the fear.
Take action. One of the best ways to kick fear to the curb is to take action. Just do something, anything, because action leads to clarification. The more you take action the more confident you become.
Head on over to Kind Over Matter and read the rest of my essay today!
If you want to say something and speak out but have no idea how, check out this kick ass FREE handbook right here! #MakePatriarchyFearYou
It’s Monday, cause some mayhem, raise some hell! Dr. Melissa Bird