In Others’ Words: Discover

Getting past fear?

It’s an amazing feeling.

Pushing past the “I can’t, I can’t, I can’t” — stuffing a sock in all that mental mouthing-off  –  helps me see myself in a whole new, glorious way.

Yes, glorious.

Suddenly I’m not living under the crushing threat of impossible. Instead, I’m inhaling and exhaling all of the possibles.

So what was I afraid I couldn’t do — and then I discovered I could do? Oh, so many things. But I’ll only share one today:

Back when I was all of 20 years old, I found an engagement ring hidden in a handblown Christmas ornament on my Christmas tree. With that ring came a marriage proposal, which I accepted.

But here’s the thing: Even as I said yes, I thought: This isn’t going to work.

Isn’t it funny — in a so unfunny way — how you can be saying yes and thinking no-no-no at the same time?

The engagement lasted five months — and so did my doubts. And finally I spoke up. I didn’t do it perfectly. To be honest, my declaration of independence was a mess. But my message was clear enough to end the relationship — and to ensure that friends told me I was crazy to let such a perfect guy go. (Yeah, well, they were entitled to their opinions. I was the one who had dated the guy.)

What did I discover?

That I could speak up. For myself. For truth. That I didn’t have to pretend everything was okay when it wasn’t.

That was the first time I embraced honesty and valued myself over what others might think about me — but it wasn’t the last.

In Your Words: When did you surprise yourself and discover you could do something you didn’t think you could do? I’d love for you to join the conversation and share your experience!

How have you surprised yourself by conquering a fear? Click to Tweet

A Proposal. A Breakup. And a Discovery. Click to Tweet!

Surprise! You Can Do It! Click to Tweet