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Feel the fear....

Do you ever have moments of self doubt,  fear, worry, anxiety or procrastination?


I do.


Last weekend, I took myself off to the beach, with the express aim of doing some bodyboarding...something I love to do. I mean it's one of the things that brings me so much joy!!


And yet....I found myself overthinking. You see, its the first time I've been completely on my own heading out into the water. No friends accompanying me, no instructors to guide and coach my efforts. Just me, my shiny new Decathlon recycled board (trying to think sustainably)and my new shortie wetsuit (a Mountain Warehouse sale bargain). I can hear my dad's voice in my head "...all the gear, no idea!"


And that's where it started.  What if I misjudge the waves and the rip current? What do I do with my stuff? What if my stuff gets nicked? Is it sensible to go in the water on my own? Is my shortie wetsuit good enough? Or will I get stung by those jellyfish? Should I hire one a full length one?

In the end, I got bored with myself and had a word with myself. Ultimately this was all about keeping myself safe; physically, mentally and emotionally. It usually is with me.


Despite some lingering concerns I got changed and headed down with minimal stuff. We're talking bottle of water, towel and flip-flops and decided that if anyone was desperate enough to take any of it? They were very welcome to it!


Guess what. All was fine....in fact it was great. I caught some waves, I enjoyed the warmth of the water and the shortie wetsuit was actually fine, I avoided jellyfish and I got used to the sensations of the seaweed ...and my towel was still there on the beach to dry myself off when I got out!


And to think I nearly talked myself out of my time in the water! When is it your inner critic/ inner worrier comes to the surface?! And what purpose are they trying to fulfil?!  When is it right to feel the fear and do it anyway? 


Sometimes there's some logical reasoning to be done, maybe an assessment of risk, perhaps some learning or preparation. But for me, implementing the learning, doing some ordered thinking and keeping focussed on not sponging all of my joy out of something I love to do, was key!



If there's something in life that you're holding yourself back from? Maybe take a sense check as to why.

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