Throughout the last few years, as I’ve been contemplating what to do with my life, I’ve realized that everyone is afraid to do what they love. How do I know? Too many people work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, doing something that they don’t love to do.
Why? I think it’s because somewhere down their paths, they were too afraid. I think a lot of it comes from being scared of failure, being embarrassed or being made fun of. People don’t go for their goals because of what people might say or think.
I’ve been down this line of thought many times, and I’ve realized that beneath it all, the one thing we ALL are, is afraid. It’s our one and only major limitation to do anything. It’s the fundamental thing that keeps us all from where we want to be, from striving to be great.
We all back away from things every day, because we’re scared. Scared to ask for a raise, scared to try your own thing, scared to ask her out, scared of rejection and humiliation, scared of opinions and perceptions, scared of change.
You need to grow your comfort zone. Think of your current comfort zone as a puddle of water. Now think of the situations you are afraid of as smaller puddles, slightly out of reach. As you go towards and confront those “scary” situations, your comfort zone grows, and those once unreachable spots become things you no longer fear. They become a part of your new, larger comfort zone. And now, much further, at a time much more “scary” situations, are just one step away from being comfortable to you.
Imagine what you could achieve if so much of what you currently fear was comfortable for you? Imagine what you could achieve if you weren’t embarrassed to fail.
Actually, it’s only through failure that can you really achieve anything.
Find what you love to do and do it. And since you love doing it, you’ll always want to do it, and you’ll do it so well. Cause it won’t be work.
And if you’re not sure about what you want to do, just start doing something and you’ll find it.
I’m telling you. Everyone’s too afraid to do what they love. Everyone’s too afraid to be vulnerable.
To be made fun of:
“But what if this doesn’t work? What if I fail miserably? What if no one likes what I do and I waste years of my youth trying to do it? I’ll be a laughing stock.”
If you don’t try, you’ll never know.
Here’s one of my all time favorite quotes:
“If you shoot for the stars and hit the moon it’s OK. But you’ve got to shoot for something. A lot of people don’t even shoot.”
It’s one of my favorite quotes because it’s so goddamn true. So many people don’t shoot. Too many.
For what? Because you might fail? And if you do, so what? What do you really have to lose? At least if you try, you’ll know what you’re worth. And more than likely, that is so much more than you can even imagine.
You’ve probably had your own moments of self doubt, or had other people tell you “It’s too risky,” or “Come on, be realistic.”
And for those moments of doubt, I’ll borrow some thoughts I’ve heard from Will Smith:
It was unrealistic to think you can walk in a room, flip a switch and have a light go on, but thankfully, Edison and others weren’t realistic.
It was unrealistic to think that you’re going to bend giant pieces of metal, and fly people over an ocean, in that metal, but thankfully, the Wright brothers and others, weren’t realistic.
It just seems like such a ridiculous idea for me, to embrace the notion of “it’s not gonna happen, it’s not real to think that’s going to happen”. As soon as you think that, you just made that true.
Why would you be realistic? What’s the point of the being realistic?
——–
Never doubt that a small, committed group of thoughtful individuals can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
So do what you love. You at least owe it to yourself to try.
Some people might think you’re crazy.
I think crazy is working 40 hours a week doing what you don’t love to do.
The Truth You Always Knew 
Good and inspiring post. It made me feel better. I think positive changes are coming in my life. Thank you!
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I believe that you need to learn about who these people are that reach out just because they listen to you. I believe those who have had a career should stay with what they had & let the younger generation get into what they already know since they have went as far as they could. I would suggest trying it after you have the money & have saved to go beyond your comfort zone into the fear you talk about. Some don’t make it because they don’t have the necessary instruction sheet to put 2+2 together to make 4. Got that?
i loved reading this. this helped me a lot because of what i am currently experiencing. I talk about it on my blog that i recently started. check it out and tell me what you think! http://hablufatblogs.com/
I’ve been trying to do what I love my whole life. Problem is, paying rent and buying food gets in the way.
Reblogged this on Nimmu's and commented:
Let us grow our comfort zone!
Reblogged this on Universe is just a Thought ! and commented:
It’ll be great doing what I love & loving what I do.
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The idea that everyone is afraid is encouraging, because it means there’s not something strangely wrong with me for being afraid. It’s only wrong if I let my fear stop me from doing what I want to do.When I read about the puddles of comfort and fear, I imagined taking a stick and drawing a path from the puddle of comfort to the puddle of fear, and watching the comfort merge into the fear. That gradual process is what I’m doing now in my life. In the past year, I’ve cut my 40 hour a week job down to 30 so I can focus on writing one day a week. In that process I’ve discovered that I love to write. I always knew I liked to write, but not until the age of 58 did I realize that I love it. Thank you for the courage.
I love the idea of the comfort meshing with the fear. The more you do that, the more you feel that the fear wasn’t ever real to begin with.
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I’m re-posting! Thank you! 🙂
In my take on the book “Narcissus And Goldmund”–love became the reconciler of opposites; it became the universal healer and teacher–we should all be so lucky! Thanks for following my blog!
I tried to do what I love — I went and got a science degree. It’s left me with no job, more debt than I can ever pay, and the looming prospect of homelessness. Sometimes doing what you love is just selfish and short-sighted. There’s no strength in self-indulgence.
If someone works a job that they hate in order to support their children, that doesn’t mean that they’re afraid of doing what they love. It means that they’re afraid of having hungry children that have to live in a homeless shelter.
I can definitely relate to that. May I suggest you try chanting these words over and over: NAM MYOHO-RENGE-KYO? By doing so, your life will change on a much deeper level than in any other method and if you persist in this practice, you will break through all your impasses. For more information, go to http://www.sgi-usa.org. Check out the related links on that site such as http://www.daisakuikeda.org. My parents sacrificed for me and I ended up materially blessed but confused, scared and often miserable. Your children need most to see you happy and be inspired by you. Find happiness even in your present circumstances. Your.comment does not offer any. Thanks, as a friend who genuinely wants to share something helpful with you and the little ones.
Reblogged this on LisVenderLand.
A wonderful philosophy for life. I especially love the ‘being realistic’ comments- it reminded me of a careers talk back at school (which encouraged me to take entirely the wrong route for myself). This is what should be taught in schools!!
And thank you for the follow 🙂
What about when you’re at a stage in your life when the good choices you were afraid to make have all disappeared and your stuck with lifelong insulin-dependent diabetes? Email me you have enough imagination to want to know the answer.
I know the feeling. I did something similar and nothing was as it appeared, everything was more expensive and harder to accomplish. The marketing alone is more expensive than the products I was trying to sell. That is the main reason I held off trying to do what I loved. I was afraid I couldn’t afford it. Problem is you do never know until you try. Then at least on my deathbed I won’t be wondering about it. 😉
Very good piece of “work”;) I have a question though. What is your idea of Why is that people are “afraid”? Why is it fear part of human emotions? What are you thoughts about that?
Great minds think alike they say but as far as I am concerned greater minds think nothing cannot be achieved with the right attitude so let’s all crack on with what we love.
Great post. I walked away from a six-figure salary to follow my heart. At 33 I’m a full time student studying my first degree (science) so that I can work for wildlife. It may seem scary to leave what you think you know and what you think matters behind, but when you follow your heart path you never want for anything; everything you will ever need comes from within you.
Too true, and I REALLY needed it – THX