As a frame of reference, that is my three year old grandchild climbing in that wire tunnel.  Now his ability to conquer fear is his lack of experience.  To a three year old, “what could possibly go wrong, Opa?”

It’s been awhile since I worked on this series.  I guess I was “fearing” trying to finish it and my “anxiousness” got the better of me.  The truth is, I got distracted.  Life has kind of gotten in the way and more pressing blog posts were required.  But I’m back on track.

Ironically, I am about to do another public presentation.  I am past the fear, after all it is a topic that is near and dear to me.  I am even past the anxious stage for the most part, the date was set and the outline has been made.  All that’s left is for me to step up in front of the crowd.  Am I nervous, yes.  No one truly knows how the first words out of your mouth will be received.  That is the state of “nervousness”.  Your fear at having to step out or into your act has subsided, somewhat, and that feeling of being anxious has also calmed down.  It’s just a little voice in the back of your brain asking “are you absolutely sure you want to do this?”  Your answer, if you’ve made it to this point, is “do I really have a choice?”

All that is left is for you to push back that voice in your head and step into the light.  You really can’t turn back very easily at this point.  For me, I have found myself on the strut of an airplane 4000 feet up ready to jump, or strapped into a harness connected to an over sized kite running headlong toward a 3000 foot cliff, or grabbing the cables of a 60 degree, 800 foot climb to the top of a mountain, or even just stepping out onto the stage in front of four hundred people.  In every case, the answer for me was “no, I don’t have a choice.”  I really couldn’t turn back, so I pushed back the nervousness with that last bit of commitment and I was there.

I will never tell you this is easy.  If it were, there wouldn’t be the next stage, excitement.  I will also tell you that it doesn’t get easier each time you try it.  You just move through the stages faster and that’s thanks to experience.  Just convince yourself that you are going to go through with it and walk fear back with reassurance, reduce anxiousness with preparation and finally tell nervousness to fuel your energy.

If you’ve made it this far, the last two stages are lined up and they are the pay-off for the effort; excitement and energy.  Stay tuned and I will get to these two next time.

Thanks for reading and always, thanks for trying.