As a general rule, anticipation is a lot worse than reality. When you are worried about something, you often overanalyze what is going to happen and freak yourself out by thinking about what is the worst thing that can happen. Often times these things do not turn out as bad as you think that they will.
Let me give you an example. I am someone who hates public speaking. Seriously. If I ever had to speak in front of an extremely large crowd I would definitely need someone to calm me down. However, once I started doing the presentation, it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I think that the worst thing about trying something new or different is that you have a fear of what is going to happen.
The best thing that you can do for yourself when you are nervous is to just go with it. The biggest thing for public speaking for me is that I am afraid that I am going to mess up and then someone will end up judging me because of it.
Let me explain why this is an irrational fear. Everyone starts out in this world not knowing how to do anything. As you are going through life, you learn how to do new and different things. One of the best feelings in the world is to get over something that you were once afraid of.
One of my favorite quotes of all time is "Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game." Yes, this quote is from A Cinderella Story. This quote is so powerful for me because in general I am a very hesitant person and I often let fear dictate my life. This is something that I plan on changing about myself.
I want to do the things that scare me in life. That's how you know that you are really alive. If you stick to what you know, then you won't really grow as a person.
If I didn't take a chance and go away to college, then I would not have the friends, opportunities, and the support system that I have today. I would not have my best friend that I have today if I didn't take chances (Love you, Diana).
Overall, I would definitely recommend that everyone tries something that is outside their comfort zone at least once a month. I know that this may seem like pretty frequently, but think about all of the new experiences that you will have to share with people. I am one of those people who also learn by other people's experiences, and I love having something new to share with my friends. This is why I am currently working on two different bucket lists; a bucket list for college and a bucket list for life.
Both of these bucket lists will be posted. I think that it could be inspiring to see how other people are conquering their fears and doing the things that they want to do. Who knows, maybe it will give you the confidence that you need in order conquer your fears.
