Change can be good. So at the beginning of this month I quit my full-time job.  My schedule has been pretty consistent for the past two years. I would wake up at 5:00 am, commute an hour to work, work a full day and then sit through traffic and commute back home, workout, work on my own business ventures, make my dinner for the next day and head to bed. I didn’t mind the traffic or the commute, or even the early mornings. I actually love being up early! I was making good money, the work was easy and I had a routine in place.

And while I appreciated the opportunity so much, it wasn’t my calling and I wasn’t fulfilled. I wasn’t passionate about the work I was doing. And every day I would feel this tugging on my heart that I wasn’t doing what I was put here to do. I wasn’t making any difference in the world. The job was helping me to pay the bills, but it wasn’t something I woke up excited to do and it wasn’t allowing me to help others. For two years I had this nagging feeling.  This wasn’t what I was meant to do and I knew it. I knew it more than I’d ever known anything.

So finally, I made a decision. A decision to leave. A decision to pursue my passions. A decision to take a leap of faith in myself. A decision to jump and find my wings on the way down. Last Monday was my last day, and I’m going to get really real with you for a sec… I don’t think I’ve never felt so scared in my entire life. I was totally freaked out. I ran through just about every emotion that day: excitement, happiness, sadness, anger, fear. You name it, I felt it. But the one that stuck out most for me was definitely that fear. I felt completely consumed by fear. I had never experienced this level of fear. I was beyond freaked out. All of these thoughts kept flying through my head: What did you JUST do? What if you don’t succeed? What if you totally fail? What if you can never make this kind of money again? Don’t get me wrong, those fears are 100% still there, and I think they will be until I’ve gotten past this transitional point in my life. It’s still pretty fresh and it’s a big life change. But I’ve also realized how crazy it would be to let those fears stop me from doing what I truly want to do.

How will you ever know if you never try? Even the absolute worst case scenario is still better than living with the regret of never trying. So this week is officially my first week of self-employment. My first week of fully pursuing my passions. Putting it all on the line and taking that leap. Who knows if it’ll turn out how I have it imagined, but even if it doesn’t, I have total faith that I’ll end up exactly where I’m supposed to be and I won’t have to live with the regret of never having tried.  I learned a few things this past week about fear and I wanted to share them with you guys.

1. Fear is inevitable but you choose how you respond to that fear.  I didn’t choose to be scared that day, it just seemed to sneak up on me until I was totally overwhelmed by it. It’s the body’s natural response to danger, whether that danger is real or just perceived. The body doesn’t know one way or the other and is just working to keep you safe. It’s your job to sit down with perceived fear and break down all the reasons it isn’t really real. What’s the absolute worst case? Is it really that bad?
2. Embracing fear is embracing growth. You need to embrace the fear in order to really learn and grow as a person. If you never experience fear, you’re never stepping out of your comfort zone. Stepping out of your comfort zone is where the magic happens. It’s how you move forward in life. Embrace the fear when it shows up. Feel it, but move forward anyways.
3. There is no such thing as failure unless you give up. Even if things don’t turn out exactly how you wanted them to, it doesn’t mean you failed. It means you tried one thing that didn’t work so now you have the chance to try a new approach. They’re all just “experiments” until you find what works. There are no failures unless you decide to give up.
4. Sitting with the fear is always better than living with the regret. No matter what, you’ll be happy that you tried. You can move on knowing that you gave it your all. You went for what you wanted. You moved past the fear. How will you know if you never try? If you never try, you’ll always wonder how it could’ve been different.
5. Fear can be used as a motivator to push forward. Use the fear to push you forward. Feel the fear but know that once you push past it, it will only make you stronger. Use that fear as motivation to move forward and give it your all!

As scary as fear can be, it just confirms that you’re out of your comfort zone, and that’s AWESOME! Give yourself a pat on the back and push past it. Try, learn, grow!

What’s something you’ve always wanted to do but fear has stopped you from trying?

I’d love to hear how you overcome fear! Let me know below!

Until next time!

And don’t forget, you totally rock!

Xoxo

Ashley