What are you afraid of?  Be honest. We all have stuff that scares us. Maybe it’s something big.  Maybe small.  Regardless of what it is, the outcome is often the same: Stasis.  Fear acts as a roadblock that keeps us from doing something.  Fear is often the great preserver of the status quo.  It keeps you from having that uncomfortable conversation with your spouse or friend.  It keeps you from going to the doctor.  Or asking for a raise. Or joining the gym.  Or dealing with an addiction.  Or moving to a new town.  Or changing jobs.  Or starting a business.  Or making new friends.  Or traveling. These fears, big and small, stop us in our tracks and the longer we allow them to persist, the more insurmountable they seem.

But here’s the thing. Almost every fear that you and I have—those things that have been holding us back for years and that are keeping us from the things that we genuinely want from life—can be overcome with a few seconds of uncomfortable action.  It reminds me of that quote from Matt Damon’s character in the movie We Bought a Zoo:

“Sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage.  Just literally 20 seconds of embarrassing bravery and I promise you something great will come of it.”

This is true because fear isn’t something that persists for very long in the face of action.  Once you start, the fear subsides and you focus on the action at hand.  In that sense, inaction is much more uncomfortable than action because the fear and anxiety of inaction is a long-term state.  We marinate in it, sometimes for years.  Once you start, however, and push through the fear with a short burst of bravery, the fear subsides and your focus shifts to whatever it is that you’re doing.

I’m writing about this idea because I’ve had constant reminders about it on this trip.  When traveling, especially internationally, there are dozens of little fears that crop up.  Not being able to speak the language.  Driving a rental car in a strange city.  Figuring out the subway.  Those things can make you want to curl up in a ball in your hotel room and cry.  Fortunately, inaction isn’t really a choice.  Scared of driving?  Too bad.  You’ve got 100 cars behind you.  Subway make you nervous?  Unless you want to sleep at the airport, you’d better take a stab at it.  So you do.  And…hey…what do you know!  You figure it out.  Maybe you didn’t do it perfectly, but you survived.  You learned something and built a bit of confidence that you can keep in your back pocket for the next challenge.  More importantly, fear vanquished, you get to do the thing that you’ve been wanting to do.  String a bunch of those together and you have a life that is rewarding and untarnished by regret.

So I’ll ask again: What are you afraid of?  Whatever it is, you have a choice.  You can let it fester and keep you from the life you want or you can muster 20 seconds of bravery and take the first step toward resolution.  Choose the former and you’ll likely be miserable.  Choose the latter and you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner. Good things are just on the other side of an impermanent barrier that can be breached with a few seconds of bravery. What are you waiting for?

“Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. What if they are a little coarse and you may get your coat soiled or torn? What if you do fail, and get fairly rolled in the dirt once or twice? Up again, you shall never be so afraid of a tumble.”    ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Next destination

I wrapped up my time in France yesterday and hopped an early morning flight to Naples, Italy.  From there I came to a little seaside town on the Amalfi Coast called Positano.  I’ve got four days here with a few concentrated on work and a few for activities (e.g. visiting Pompei and Vesuvius, hiking the Sentiero degli Dei (Path of the Gods), etc.).  I’ll get a post up soon filling you in on my time in France.  Thanks for following along!

Be Intentional,

Joe