DAY 40: Sunday SoulJourn – Fear Itself
There are certain fears which are understandable – like arachnophobia and fear of heights. How about the ones that go unseen yet are equally impactful?
- Are you a commitment phobe?
- Do you fear the possibility of failure?
- Are you overly concerned with other people’s expectations and perceptions?
- Do you worry what will happen once you finally achieve your dreams?
While my answers to the above questions would not all be YES, there are a few areas in which fear has stifled my emotional, physical, and spiritual growth.
I can see myself living life in joy, passion, artistry, and love. Yet, it’s like I’m looking at it through a long-range lens. I’m standing at a ravine, staring across the canyon desperate to get to the other side but petrified at what to do next.
Do I give up and sit down, waiting for a path to magically appear, or do I build the bridge myself?
I’ve spent way too many years waiting at the ravine, wishing and hoping to somehow reach my desired destination. How much time did I waste when I could have been building that bridge? Some tools I already had at my disposal while others I dismissed as unimportant and insignificant.
I recently made a list of the tools I’ll need to build my personal bridge. Here are some:
- Confidence
- Determination
- Passion
- Interconnectedness
- Support system
- Flexibility
- Stability
I’m ready to get started building my bridge, because standing there waiting for someone else to do it for me scares me more than my fear of heights.
What tools would you use to build your bridge? Have you ever felt like the next step in your journey was out of reach or too far?
Kelly Deeny 
That’s a powerful list of bridge-building tools you’ve identified. I have also spent many years staring across the water or forgetting the river is even there at all. For some of us the time is right when we’re young; for others, not until we’re older, I’ve decided I’m okay with that. As hard and as consistently as I work at it, accomplishing my mission of living lifeg as a successful novelist does sometimes feel far off, but then i lose myself in building the bridge piece by piece. (I really like that metaphor, by the way.)