What most terrifies us is often what we most need to tackle.

We can engage in a simple, effective exercise: make a list of what most scares us. Then, go through each item and identify why we think it’s frightening. We need to be very honest with ourselves here. What do we gain by not engaging in this, whatever it is? And then, what do we gain if we do tackle it? What is the payoff and the loss in staying where we are?

When we do this, we can clearly see what’s holding us back and where we are stuck. It’s a lot simpler to make excuses for not facing our fears when we aren’t addressing the reasons behind them. Often, when we write all of this out, we see that the payoff in staying stuck is basically … nothing. Either that, or we realize that it’s not a worthy payoff in the end. We realize that standing up to fear will, in the end, reap incomparable benefits.

Now, we think back to a time when we did face a fear. Write out what that felt like, and what ended up happening. True, it doesn’t always work out perfectly. On the other hand, we can usually identify some point of growth or discovery, even if it didn’t go as planned. We find this and we make note of it. Then write out what you imagine would have happened if you hadn’t faced this fear.

This exercise helps us remember that we are capable of doing this, we have done it before, and that it upgraded our lives. Even if we repeat this sequence many times – facing a fear and feeling the benefits – it is easy to forget our previous experience when presented with a new obstacle.

Doing what scares us is the fastest, most intuitive way to create growth in our lives. If we spend all of our time coasting, we don’t get anywhere. It’s like a big lazy river – it feels comfortable, but really we’re only traveling in circles. Get in the ocean and feel those powerful waves of fear push you to new dimensions!

I hope that this journaling exercise is helpful for you. Pull it out to use anytime that you are facing new hurdles. It can apply to pretty much anything! Face your fears and uplevel your life. Sending you love.