AFFIRMATION: Smart Girls Know How to Say “No” to Fear

Have you ever been stopped dead in your tracks by fear? I’m not talking about horror flick, haunted house, psycho-on-the-loose fear. I’m talking about the kind of fear that we create all by ourselves and creeps into our psyche without us even knowing it.

There are little fears – the kind that give you butterflies right before jumping off the high dive. Then there are big fears – those that keep us from applying to our dream school because don’t think we could handle the rejection if we don’t get in.

Fear is a powerful thing. Depending on how we respond to it, fear can either drive our life or be just a fleeting distraction.

How big of a role does fear play in your life? How would you answer these questions?

• Do you ever say “yes” to something you don’t want to do because you don’t want to disappoint another person?
• Have you ever turned down a potentially awesome opportunity because you didn’t know if it would work out as you hoped?
• Did you ever not go for something you wanted because you didn’t think your chances of getting it were very good?

If you said “yes” to any of these, then you’ve let fear guide you. And when you do that, it’s kind of like saying “no” to life.

Take the “Conquer Your Fear Challenge”:

Okay. So here’s my challenge to you for the week. For the next seven days, don’t let fear make your choices for you. Here’s what to do:

* The next time you’re in a situation where you have a choice of whether or not to do something – it could be volunteering to read your personal essay out loud at school, taking on an extra shift at work, applying to a college out of state, blowing your allowance on designer jeans – ask yourself this question: “Why do I want to do this?” or “Why don’t I want to do this?”

* If you answer this question with something negative – “I’m getting these designer jeans I can’t afford because if I don’t, people will think I’m not cool,” or “I don’t want to volunteer to read my paper out loud because people will judge me,” or “I don’t want to leave my hometown by going out-of-state to college because it would be too hard” – then you’re letting fear guide you.

If you’re making a choice out of fear, try saying “no” to the fear and “yes” to life! “Who cares if people don’t like my personal style. I don’t want to waste my money on jeans just to look cool” or “I need to put myself out there and see what happens…if I don’t take chances, I’ll never find out what I might be missing out on.”

Take action! Apply to that college…read that essay out loud…say “no” to the fancy jeans. I guarantee that you’ll be happy with the results. There’s nothing more empowering than conquering a fear. And the best part is, it gets easier and easier the more you do it.

Give it a try, and let me know how it goes!

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Take the Survey!

Speaking of taking action, my good friend and amazingly inspirational author, speaker and “actionist,” Jessica Weiner, needs your help with a new survey. Please click on the link on the left to take the “Actionist Survey with Jess.”