something that scares you

The other night I had the tv on while I bounced around doing various chores and projects. At one point I realized that all of the shows that had come on had mentioned the idea of doing something that scares you. I had to laugh because at that moment I was cross-stitching which is an activity that has never caused me anxiety.

The idea has been floating around in my head ever since, though. Do something that scares you.

I've always been a pretty cautious person. I've always had a low tolerance for pain and I think, even as a child, I was very careful about doing something that might hurt. I can remember running around in the woods by our house and participating in rough-and-tumble play as well as climbing all over various playground equipment but at some point my natural caution deterred me more and more from similar past-times. That's probably why I've never broken a bone, sprained anything, or gotten stitches.

While I'm sure I could stand to be a bit more adventurous in my outdoor activities, I'm not sure physical recklessness is necessarily the end goal of the "do something that scares you" philosophy. Growth happens outside of our comfort zones. We don't change if we keep doing what we've always done, or avoiding what we've always avoided - as the case may be. Some of us may need to try skydiving, some should go swimming in the ocean or ride that huge roller coaster at the theme park. For others, doing something that scares us may mean making eye contact with someone on the bus, raising your hand to ask a question in class or opening up to someone about how you're really feeling.

Writers often have their own specific set of fears, whether it's fear of failure before you even get yourself to begin, fear of letting go of your plan and allowing your characters to tell you what the story is, fear of writing a crappy first draft or fear of sharing your work with someone and being made fun of.

We have to be willing to try things that scare us. I'm scared of a number of things on both of those lists but more and more I'm coming to realize that some of the things I want in my life will only be obtained by stretching myself and taking a few leaps.

Sometimes the chances we take might not work, sometimes the landing hurts, but the pain is never permanent. The lessons we learn from each experience, however, are priceless. The life of  the late Maya Angelou is a wonderful example that our lives are cumulative - we should not devalue any experience because, one way or another, it becomes a part of us and who we will be.

I don't know about you guys, but I think I'm going to try more things that scare me.