Fear can be a powerful motivator if you don’t let it take you over. People are often reluctant to try new things or to do something a different way, because they are afraid. Facing your fears can sometimes be a good thing and open you up a world of possibilities.

Being afraid of something isn’t necessarily a weakness. Some people have things they are scared of that just don’t make sense to others. Everyone has different fears and different ways of dealing with those fears. Seemingly insignificant fears, like a fear of spiders, may not make sense to some people. For myself, my fear of spiders stems from the time which I spent in Australia with my parents & baby sister. I was only 3 at the time and the spiders out there can be very dangerous. So my parents were very careful to warn me about staying away from the spiders, because they might hurt me. At such a young age, taking on board information like that can sink in and it is something which I’ve held on to for years now. The likelihood of me getting hurt by any domestic spider species in the UK, is incredibly small. But because of the way I was taught not to go near those dangerous spiders, I still have that ingrained within my mindset.

I have another fear that I need to face at the moment, my fear about Maya doing more hours at nursery! Now I’m not afraid of her being there, because I know she will absolutely love it and she will get to spend more time with her friends. The fear comes from me letting go of her being with me as much. I think a lot of mum’s suffer from the same fear of ‘losing’ their baby as they grow older and start to become more independent. I know that it will be good for her development, both educationally and socially. There is still that niggling fear at the back of my mind about her being away from me though. I have to face it head on, as it is for my benefit to. It means that I can better prioritize my time and have more structured hours of when I complete work for clients.

Fear of the unknown, or of changing situations plays a big part in my mindset. Taking the leap into being solely self-employed is a huge step for me and something that I really need to be 100% certain about. Thankfully I have people around me who can advise me on what are the best steps for my personal circumstances. So hopefully that fear will begin to dissipate soon and everything will fall into place. My job, Maya’s nursery and our family life will all slot into a better pattern and ultimately we will all benefit from me facing those fears.

Is there something new that you’ve been meaning to try, but haven’t because you’re afraid? Maybe now is the time to face that fear and take that leap. It could be the big change that you need that makes your life turn around, so that you can live life to the fullest and really be happy. I know that is my hope for my not too distant future!