“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.” – Amelia Earhart
Overcoming Fear and Indecision
Is fear getting in your way as you think about making a change in your life? Or perhaps a change has just occurred, and you are fearing what this new situation might mean for you and your loved ones?
Fear itself is designed to give us a clue that something might be dangerous to us. When we experience anxiety surrounding a change in our lives, it is not uncommon to feel afraid that we have made a poor choice or that we now have no idea what step to take next. A change in a close relationship, in a school or work environment, a living arrangement; all of these can lead to many difficult and unexpected results. A change is usually challenging even if we felt sure that the choice we made was the right one. If we aren’t feeling confident about the choice, doubt may show up. Doubt invites us to lose sight of hope for our situation.
Difficult Choices: Planning for a change
When you are faced with a tricky decision, can you set fear aside in order to make the best choice possible with the information that you have?
These simple tools can help with this type of change:
-Find people to support you and love you for who you are; colleagues and friends who can offer unbiased support as you sort through conflicting thoughts.
– In contrast to the first idea above, we have to be sure to remember our values. All the advice in the world can’t replace our “gut feelings” and our core beliefs.
– Be sure to keep your “eye on the prize.” Sometimes we lose sight of why we are so passionate about our dreams, which can leave us feeling lost and discouraged in the midst of the day-to-day struggles toward our goals.
– Remember that we cannot truly be sure of an outcome before we have made a decision. Some faith is required to have the courage to move forward.
So what else can we do to sort through all of the difficult choices, unexpected circumstances, and feelings that are involved with change in our lives?
Also, how do we know if it is doubt that is getting in our way of embracing a new life situation, or if we in fact have made a poor decision and need to make another change – and fast?
How can we move forward when the “right choice” is not clear?
More next week!
Kristine