(Read Time- 3 minutes)
Like many people, I've always had a problem following through on things that I tell myself I'm going to do. I always found a "legitimate" reason to avoid or not learn certain things, just so I could feel good about myself at the end of the day. Really, it was just me avoiding my fears and weaknesses. I finally realized that living that way would have led me down the path of mediocrity, which is the last thing that I'm going to let myself do. Fear make you miss out on so many interesting and exciting life experiences. By understanding that, I've become more brave and started to attack my fears and weaknesses.
One of my biggest weaknesses has always been my ability to swim. I never learned as a child, and what I had taught myself was terrible at best. I didn't even know how to go under water without plugging my nose until I was 17. So learning to swim jumped to the top of my list. Again, I have to thank The Blog of Tim Ferriss for helping me to improve myself and leading me to the Total Immersion swimming method. It's already greatly improved my abilities and I would say by the end of the month I'll be a fairly decent swimmer. I could have went my entire life without learning just because I was scared. Looking back on it, I don't know how I had convinced myself that it was OK.
Next up on my list was sailing. I had never tried to learn how to sail because of one bad incident and telling myself I didn't have the time or the money. My swimming abilities didn't make me very comfortable either. (solved that problem) Deep down, I really wanted to learn though. One day I finally said "Screw it!", and bought a month long membership at Community Boating, Inc . After a few classes and some time on the water, I was comfortable sailing a boat by myself.
The last is a desire of mine that I've had forever. I like to fight. I used to love Tai Kwon Do and always did pretty well at competitions. I stopped way back when and had just never picked it up again. Why? The simple answer is fear. Not being strong enough, not being fast enough, not wanting to get my ass kicked. I had avoided starting to learn again because of these fears. Not anymore. I'm learning Muay Thai Kickboxing and Jiu Jitsu at Wai Kru in Allston. I'm going to get stronger and faster and I'm definately going to get my ass kicked a few times, but it's ok because I'm going to become a damn good fighter.
This new attitude of mine has made me reflect on my life and look back at all of the opportunities I missed due to fear. Football, dancing, college basketball, the banjo, hunting... all opportunities and life experiences I missed out on. Everyone has things like these that they've missed out on and regreted. It might take some soul searching and painful self-admittance but everyone has them. Sit down and think about what old fears you can still confront and how you will stop letting fear hold you back in the future! Then you can start feeling better about yourself and you're life!
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