What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail? Would you sign up for that marathon? Would you start a new hobby or a new career? Would you take that road trip you’ve always wanted to take? This section is all about taking that one step, that one courageous step. You’ve spent a little time dreaming, imagining what it is you want to bring to fruition. Then you decided on one thing to carry forward. You made a plan. Now it’s time to execute! That’s what step four is about: being brave and moving in the direction of your dreams.
Have you ever noticed we tend to assume the worst case scenario? When I get to do something I’m nervous to do, I always ask, is this going to kill me? The answer is always no. There’s so much power with the simple act of giving it a try. I’ve noticed when I avoid doing something, the anxiety builds up. By not taking action, that makes it worse. What you resist, persists! Is that true for you?
In the book Reach by Andy Molinsky, PhD he talks about the two surprising benefits of taking action. You’ll have to get the book for details but I’ll share what these a-ha moments are. The author calls them discoveries.
1. Discovery #1: This isn’t so bad after all.
2. Discovery #2: I can do this (and I’m better at it than I thought)
How can we build the brave muscle? There’s no other way to say it. Practice. Put yourself in situations where you will be required to stretch. Do you want to get better at public speaking? Join a Toastmaster’s meeting, and you will probably be called up to do a table topic speech. Go live on Instagram or Facebook. Do you want to start painting? Can you buys a canvas and some paint. There’s tons of YouTube videos out there. What would happen if you started there? Start small. How we think about things matters. Our mindset can make or break us? Can you look at this new endeavor as an adventure? Can you get excited about learning something new? Trying something new? One of my mentors Cathy Heller calls it 20 seconds of courage. Are you up for it? What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?
