I have lived in fear my whole life. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of not being good enough, fear of everything.

I don’t think I’m alone when I say this, I think everyone goes through these similar feelings.

It is so easy to have feelings of fear, but fear is the one thing that holds us back in life.

When we are afraid, we do not try. We hold back and we do not give it our all.

Fear holds us back from the simplest things in life, whether it’s being afraid to say hi to someone or being afraid to go to that job interview. These simple things are actually the big things.

At the time, these choices to not pursue something because of your fear, seem so insignificant. In fact, this choice may even seem comfortable.

But, that’s the thing, life is meant to push us out of our comfort zone. If you live without fear you are open to so many more opportunities in life. Maybe that person you didn’t say hi to could become your best friend or even your spouse. Or that job interview you didn’t go to could have been your dream job.

But even if it isn’t, it could expose you to new people and experiences that could change your life forever. And that class you were afraid to take because you were afraid of failing? You weren’t afraid of failing, you were afraid of working hard. Maybe the material you learn in that class is the pathway to the rest of your life, or maybe the person you sit next to in that class is the pathway to the rest of your life.

As scary as life is, we never really have anything to lose. Sure, you could get hurt and sure you could fail, but isn’t that better than nothing? Moving in any direction — whether it’s backward or forward is better than standing still.

If you let go of fear, you open yourself up to so many more opportunities of success.

So, take chances, take risks, fail, succeed, live without fear and life will come chasing after you.