I’m Embracing Fear This Year
Join me?
As always, the new year got me reminiscing.
- Who do you want to be this year?
- What did you achieve last year?
- How can you do better?
Last year went pretty well for me. I can safely say 2022 me would not recognize the 2023 me. That’s a win.
Grow to the point where you can’t recognize yourself.
Growth comes from discomfort
For a large chunk of the time, I felt incredibly uncomfortable.
From lying in bed and watching Netflix all day long to starting my first job at a company I admire and working on my side hustle every day was bound to be hard.
What surprised me was the emotions that came with it.
When you’re growing, changing from who you once were to who you want to become, it comes with a heavy emotional burden. You’re essentially mourning your past self.
Suddenly waking up at 5 am and writing for two hours straight does not feel good in the start. Your mind, your body, does not want to change. It feels unsafe.
Until it doesn’t.
To come out the brighter side of the tunnel, you have to stick with it.
You have to stay and keep going through the tears, the discomfort, the unfamiliarity, the fear.
And then you become better. You feel better. You do better.
One day you wake up and you realize it doesn’t feel uncomfortable anymore. Waking up at 5 am feels like a habit, not a chore. You’ve become who you always wanted to be.
It’s time to do better.
Running towards fear
Your most worthwhile goals will come with a sense of fear.
Because you know achieving them will change you forever.
You’ll lose yourself.
That’s scary.
Run towards it.
One of my goals for 2023 was to solo travel. I backed out. It felt too scary, too real. It got my stomach in knots.
I wish I’d gone through with it. Nothing wonderful comes without a bit of fear. Good things happen without fear, sure. But nothing wonderful.
I’m already facing anxiety for the year starting now. It’s gonna be a big one. I started writing publicly in Jan 2023. It’s been 12 months, 100+ articles.
I’ve gotten some recognition through this time. I’m lucky enough that a handful of people read the three articles I post each week.
But in my soul, I know this year is going to be big. And I’m already facing resistance.
This is the year I start earning from writing, Maybe even more than my day job. Maybe I’ll exceed my highest expectations.
But who will I be when I do?
Will my day look the same as it does now? Will I have the same friends? Will I be the same person?
We’ll find out.
Remember to balance comfort with discomfort
I’m not beating myself up for not going through with the solo trip.
2023 was hard enough as is.
You need to establish some balance.
You step out of your comfort zone for a bit while also keeping tethered to some fort of safety for your mind.
Too much of anything can be dangerous. Push yourself, but not to the point of breaking yourself.
Which fears are you facing this year?
With love,
K
