When Change Happens

July 28, 2014 Overcoming Fear

Change happens when your desire for something better becomes greater than your fear.

This statement probably never rang more true for me then when I decided to leave my job to pursue my passion for writing and, eventually, coaching. I can still remember sitting there at my desk after months and months of contemplation, about to give my boss my two weeks’ notice. I was terrified, but a deep desire had taken hold inside of me, and I had reached a point where I knew there was no more ignoring it. Moving forward and pursuing my dream had become the only option.

Whether you’re contemplating leaving your job to pursue a passion, putting yourself back on the dating scene after a long hiatus, moving across the country to start fresh or stretching yourself in some other realm, change is scary.

It’s kind of like bungee jumping (I would imagine, I’ve actually not crazy enough to try it.) There you are, plunging off a steep cliff into the unknown. Sure, you’re relying on those who have gone before you telling you it’s no big deal and it’s actually kind of fun, but you still have no personal experience to gauge whether you’ll truly be ok. You’re depending on that recoil. That sweet exhilaration and freedom you’ll (supposedly) feel on the way back up, provided you survive.

So how do you work through the fear and push forward anyway?

Simple: Stay grounded to that inner desire. That is the driving force.

When the discomfort of not pursuing your dream becomes so unbearable that you can’t imagine not doing it, that’s when you become willing to push yourself out of your comfort zone.