What's Stopping You?

What do you fear? When you think about your fear, how does your body physically react to it? Now, what words come to mind? Do the physical symptoms or the mental words impact your fear more? After you answer this, start to question why one takes precedence over the other.

Fear is something that can get in the way of success. If the fear is strong enough, it can take over every part of one's life. Growing up, I had a fear of public speaking. Over time, I kept giving speeches and now enjoy speaking in front of any size audience. Then, I developed a fear of failure. Each time I didn't achieve what I wanted, I became disappointed. It got to the point where I didn't try as hard and blamed external things for my failure. One day, I had enough of this and put an end to it. Later on, I developed a fear of success. Each time I came close to doing well, something always stopped me from achieving my dreams. I had to put an end to this by eliminating certain people from my life and surround myself with people who supported my dreams and are positive influences.

When you look at the fears I have encountered, who or what do you think stopped me from being the best I could be? If it is not obvious, the answer is me. I stopped myself from being successful. For a long time, I thought my fear of public speaking developed because of the number of people present in the audience. WRONG! It developed because I was an outcast and I didn't want to be made fun of for being different. the fear of failure developed because I didn't give everything my all. Yes, there will be times when I don't get my way. Guess what? That's okay. Life works itself out. I developed a fear of success because I was afraid of being different. Most people around me weren't happy people and weren't afraid of bringing everyone down to their level. Instead of surrounding myself with these people, I chose to be around different people who also want success and be surrounded by successful people.

Making changes isn't always easy. Sometimes, these changes can be the scariest to make. Who knows what the outcome can be?! I cannot predict the future, but I can tell you that the end result is worth it. shifting gears and taking control of your life will be one of the best things you can do for yourself and your future. It's time to stop letting other things and people dictate the direction of your life. At the end of the day, you control your outcome. When in doubt, repeat this phrase: "I will not stop me."