Overcoming Fear

Before I started dating my girlfriend, I went for years without one.  There could be any number of reasons for it, but a big one was fear.  I let fear be my focus instead of what I wanted – instead of the excitement and the satisfaction and the reward that was on the other side.  Eventually I came to where I decided my desire was greater than my fear of rejection and pain and other possible negatives.

Let me encourage you, even at that point of decision, when I asked her if she would date me, I was shaking in my boots, but I still did it.  That’s a lot of what pursuing your dreams is about – deciding you want something more than you are afraid of what could go wrong, and then taking a step forward.  When I asked her to date me, I wasn’t sure how long it would last.  I took one step, and then I took another step, and another step after that, continually deciding I wasn’t going to let fear hold me back.

Besides choosing to confront my fears, another factor has helped me.  It can help you too in whatever you pursue.  It’s common for most of us to talk about our relational fears with people close to us.  It helps us gain strength and courage.  We problem solve and get more support.  I wonder, how many of us treat our dreams and goals similarly.  The community around us often plays a large role in our relationships.  What if we leveraged that in other areas too?

Nine months later, we’re still dating, and I’m thrilled.  I want to ask you, what’s something like my dating story that, if you’re really honest about, you’re a little afraid and not sure how it will go?  What can you do about it today?  What’s one step you can take toward perhaps nine months of happiness… or maybe a whole lot more?