(Look for this week’s #ThursdayThoughtfulness questions after the jump.)
This Week’s Questions: What was the most recent fear you “stared down and conquered”? How did you do this? How did you feel while confronting this fear, and then afterward? Has this experience made you more confident in your ability to master other fears in the future? Also, do you think it’s possible to ever completely conquer your fears?
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Original image: Christopher Sardegna @ Unsplash
Sara Letourneau 
I am constantly experiencing and conquering fear when it comes to the writing world. I feel like fear travels in an elliptical path though. You get past a fear just to have it come back around. Sometimes I get knocked down, and other times I can maneuver around it. Even when I conquer one fear, there’s another one waiting to take its place. I’m getting pretty good at getting back up after getting knocked down, but I don’t feel like it’s easier. Maybe from the outside it looks like it’s easier, but inside it still feels rough.
The interesting thing about fear is that the anticipation will sometimes make the situation seem insurmountable but it turns out to be much easier than expected. Other times it is nearly as difficult as anticipated and there’s no real good gauge to assess which way it will turn out.
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^^ Exactly. Writing is an uncertainty-filled career. It’s not for everyone as a result, but if you believe in yourself and your abilities enough, that can go a long way to helping you stick to that path. But that doesn’t mean the fears or doubts will ever be completely erased.
One of my worst habits is dwelling on things that are out of my control. And when that fear really takes hold, I tend to catastrophize – focusing on the worst possible outcomes and therefore causing myself a LOT of stress. But have you heard the saying “making a mountain out of a molehill”? It’s like what you said in your second paragraph. Sometimes the anticipation of what’s to come is often worse than the thing itself. (And like you also pointed out, vice versa can happen, too.) The best thing we can do to ease our fears to take a pragmatic approach: hoping for the best, yet taking things as they come, with an awareness of possible outcomes and the knowledge that you’ll get through whatever happens in the end.
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We must be in sync Sara! My post today talks about finding the courage to write 🙂 The universe is speaking to us ❤
Lovely quote from a woman full of wisdom and an absolute testament of strength 🙂
In answer to your question, I think it's important to keep fear with us to stop us from being reckless in life. With fear, our courage can be even stronger because it is working against something. We know what could hold us back but we choose to aspire despite it. I hope that makes sense 😉
I am loving this series, by the way! ❤
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It may very well be. 🙂 Plus, another writing friend has been sharing Eleanor Roosevelt quotes lately on Twitter and Facebook, and I felt compelled to choose one by her. This one spoke loudest at the time.
You’re absolutely right about the necessity of fear in our lives. We can’t be brave all of the time; things are bound to make us uneasy or nervous from time to time. But we also can’t constantly shy away from fear, or else it will run our lives. And a life run by fear isn’t much of a life, is it?
Yes, what you says makes perfect sense. In fact, the part about knowing what can hold us back but transcending it nonetheless is part of being a writer. 🙂 I’ll try to read your post when I have a chance, though it’s hard to squeeze in blogging during the weekends sometimes.
FYI – Next week I’m posting a Weekly Writer Wisdom on Tuesday, since I have something else planned for Thursday. It will be in the same “spirit” as Thursday Thoughtfulness, but with a concentration on creativity.
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It’s writing, it’s always writing-related. 🙂
But as a side note, I don’t think we should try to get rid of all fears. They are, in a way, our safety nets. Some we conquer, some we give in, because we feel they’re well grounded. I think the trick is to learn to recognize the “valid” fears and the ones that need to be ridden of.
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I know what you mean about that. I’ve been dealing with a number of writing-related insecurities lately. They haven’t stopped me from writing, but they often (irrationally) undermine my confidence to the point that I wonder if I know what I’m doing.
You made a good point about fear being a natural and necessary part of life. Faith had said something. Fear is what prevents us from being reckless or missing the “common sense” aspects of something. So, like you said, we have to recognize which fears are actually OK, and which ones don’t serve us in the long run.
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It’s still hard to overcome the irrational ones, isn’t it? 🙂
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Unfortunately, yes…
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I like what Faithrivens said. Fear can make us less reckless.
I leave my fears to God. It’s unhealthy to stress and worry over the countless things that happen in life. I know I can pray and trust that God will help me through.
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^^ Exactly. Though sometimes letting go of those fears is easier said than done. But if you have practical or spiritual ways of managing them, then you’ll be OK. 🙂
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Let’s see … I stared down and conquered my fear of one of the blue slopes while skiing recently. It scared me but I went down it anyway and I didn’t do too bad. XD
storitorigrace.blogspot.com
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*lol* That’s a good example, though! And did you have fun? Would you try it again?
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It was fun. I’d do it again. ^ ^
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