‘Courage is the willingness to act in spite of fear’- Michael Hyatt
Fear is an emotion everyone faces at least once a day. We find ourselves in situations we’d rather not be a part of, or find ourselves with work we’d rather not do. The reason of fear in these cases is due the fact that we do not know the outcome of the said “problems/positions”.
Fears may be small – like mentally accepting a truth staring in your face – or big – like facing up to dangerous situations.
Rather than experiencing the discomfort itself, we tend to be reluctant to start off. It is the initial fright of the unknown which keeps us chained. And this is exactly why the trick “20 seconds of courage” is an effective way to take the first step.
Fake courage for the first 20 seconds, or even 10 seconds, and then you’ll either find yourself completely immersed in the task at hand, the panic long washed away as the adrenaline kicks in, or, you’ll have one less regret pacing at the back of your mind.
The question of ‘What if I mess up?’ ‘What if it does not turn out as I thought it would?’ ‘What if I’m wrong?’ has to be replaced with statements like, ‘It might turn out well! I may be right!’ And then, maybe you might find yourself saying, ‘Thank God I did it.’ Or ‘It was not as bad as I thought it would be.’
Take the first step. It is okay even if you must fake courage for the first 10 seconds. But those mere 10 seconds have the power to change your life.