The first thing that I recognized was holding me back from
success was other people’s opinions. A large majority of people don’t go after
their dreams because they’re afraid of what others might say when they fail. That
is me all the way. I’m afraid to fail. I’m especially afraid of failing
publicly. I’m also afraid that others around me might say “why does she think
she’s so special that she can (you fill in the blank)?”
The second thing that has held me back from success is
imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is a psychological pattern in which an
individual doubts their accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as
a "fraud". In other words, you feel like you don’t belong, when you
totally do.
After recognizing the two things that have held me back, I
made a decision that if I wanted to accomplish something, and one of those two
things were the reason I hadn’t done it yet, then I was going to dig deep for
some courage, and go for it! After all, it only takes a few seconds of courage
to change your life.
In my first moment of bravery, I signed up for my very first
powerlifting meet. A powerlifting meet is a competition where people get
together and try to lift more weight than those competing against you.
Intimidating, right? I’ve wanted to do one for years, but I never felt like I
could lift enough weight to “fit in” with the others and then imposter syndrome
would set in. After all this time of wanting to do one, I finally pulled the
trigger and paid my competition fees. The meet is in a few weeks, and I’d be
lying if I said I wasn’t scared, but I’m determined to do the best I can, and
have a good time competing.
In another moment of bravery, I sent an email to a handful
of organizations asking if they wanted me to speak at their events. I’ve always
wanted to be a public speaker, and hey, I even have a broadcast journalism
degree, but I still felt like “who am I to do this?” I don’t have any past
speaking experience to show, and I thought that they’d probably laugh at me for
asking, but lo and behold, I booked my first gig! I figured that the
opportunity isn’t going to come knocking on my door, so I decided to just go
knocking on theirs (figuratively, not literally).
I know I’m not the only person who hasn’t pursued their
dreams because they are afraid of what others might think or because they think
they’re not good enough to fit in. So, I challenge you to find the things that
are holding you back from accomplishing your dreams, analyze the reasons why
you haven’t accomplished them yet, and remember, it only takes a few seconds of
courage to change your life.
Published in The Tremonton Leader in February 2019
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