Tripping Over Typeset

I’m a natural pessimist.

If something could go wrong in my world…it happens in my mind before it’s reality.

I’m the one, who while waiting for my friend for our breakfast date, will see an ambulance zoom by with lights flashing and sirens blaring and I’m sure my friend is dead in the ditch.

I begin lamenting the loss of my friend and exercising all my mental capacities of how I’m going to cope in the coming days with her loss.

Then, while in the depths of despair, I check my phone, find her text message and read: “I’m home sick… not going to make it, sorry!”

I’m elated!  Not because she’s sick but because SHE’S ALIVE!

Yes, that’s me! The twisted friend with a pessimistic outlook on life.

We can laugh at me and say, “That’s crazy!” but how often do we let our thoughts carry us to places of fear and insecurity. Fears that are not actualized.

We often stop ourselves from moving forward into something new. Stopping ourselves before we ever get started simply through our thought process.

• “I’m going to fail anyways, why even try?”
• “I’m no good at this!”
• “I’m not smart enough to accomplish…”
• “I’m too old…”
• “I’m too young…”

We plant excuses in our heads and speak words of defeat before even starting on a journey.

I began to notice this pattern in my own life as I headed out into this blogging world.  I would have thoughts of “Why write?”

• No one will read it
• No one will care what I have to say
• This is going nowhere…

And I’m defeated before I begin.

Yet this is what I’ve learned in this journey:  Doing something new is hard work.  Doing something for God is hard work.

Our own insecurities and thought patterns can keep us in a place of defeat and fear.

So how do we move forward despite our fears?

1. Recognize the fear – Step back and evaluate the thoughts. “Is there truth behind the thoughts I’m thinking?” or “Is this a perceived thought coming from my own fear or insecurity?”
2. Line up with truth – What is the truth in the situation? Line up the facts and truth against the fears and insecurities. Readjust thoughts to reflect the truth.
3. Move in a positive direction – Instead of focusing on the fear, place the focus on truth and  what you’ve already come through and accomplished. With those thoughts in their right perspective, we can move forward, not letting fear hold us back.

These steps can help us move away from a place of fear and move into new opportunities with courage.

I love this quote of Michael Hyatt

Whenever we have the potential to do something important or extraordinary, we will be tempted to stay inside our comfort zone. But the truth is we never do anything of real significance in our comfort zone.

God has some pretty extraordinary things planned for us… more than we can imagine or comprehend, yet if we stay in our comfort zone, not moving forward because of fear or insecurity, we can miss the best He has planned for us.

I’m sure you’re like me, wanting to move forward into all He has planned. So let’s not allow fear to hold us back but instead let’s Recognize fears, Line up with truth and Move in a positive direction.