The above quote is advice from Eleanor Roosevelt on how to overcome fear. As a child, she was consumed with fear and self-doubt. Feeling she was a disappointment to her parents, she dedicated herself to overcoming her fears. Her success at doing so set the stage for her to become an extremely successful American First Lady, world famous columnist, lecturer and humanitarian. Fear is probably the single thing that keeps us from experiencing life to the fullest. As Ms. Roosevelt put it, “The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences.” The only way to overcome the fear of doing anything whether it’s the fear of heights, meeting new people or singing karaoke is to confront it head on. Doing one thing every day that scares you is probably a bit much for most of us, but one thing a week is certainly doable. Do this for six weeks and then take stock of how much larger your world has become and how much richer your life is.
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Ross, If I tried that tactic, I’d get fired. I have to resist the urge several times a day to do something that scares most people! The older I get, the less afraid I am. Isn’t that frightening? You know, when a bull wins, he’s not allowed to fight again because he learned how to fight.
Ole Eleanor is a shero of mine. She had a brilliant mind and was passionate about her beliefs.
Dear Amelia,
I think you’ve already conquered most of your fears, so you can relax on this one. Hope all is well.
Ross,
I found the book Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers (c 1987) a life changer for me. I don’t know if it is out of print now, or not, but reading it helped move me overcome the paralysis that being fearful can cause.
Dear Cheryl,
Thank you so much for your comment. I’m going to check that book out. Looking forward to connecting this summer.
That’s pretty funny!!!! Just getting out of bed every morning scares me!!!! Ann
Well, I guess you already do something every day that scares you!
Ross…Good idea…I may just give it a try! Let me know when you join the grandparent club!!!!!!! It’s fun!!!!! jc
Dear Judy,
Thank you for your comments. You’ll be the first one to know when the baby comes. All the best, Ross
Hi Ross, I read that book about doing one thing that scares you everyday I could not put it down it was stimulating mentally to think that someone had the gut to do just that. I would love to do just that but I know I do not have what it takes. Nevertheless it was an inspiration to me and I enjoyed the reading.