“Feel The Fear and Take Off Anyway!!”
“Dare! And dare again! And go on daring…” – George Danton
Why do so many dreamers, despite having good ideas or a great opportunity in their hands, sit idly by and go nowhere? Why don’t they take off and start flying away to their dream? After all, even though they may not realize it, they’re the pilot of their lives. They have the wings of success in their grasp. All they need to do is take off and fly.
Personally, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t want to someday, land in Successville and take up residence. Yet, I know many people who have folded up their wings and decided to remain on the ground. From my perspective, there are two reasons for this:
- They have allowed their comfort zone to entrap them.
- They haven’t taken responsibility for their own lives.
There Is Danger In The Comfort (Familiar) Zone.
Someone once said, “a ship in a harbor is safe, but that is not what ships were built for…” For years, people have been using the term comfort zone. Yet, actually, your so-called comfort zone is often not comfortable at all, it’s just familiar. For example, you may be working at a job that, day in and day out, is fairly predictable. You may like what you do but not like your boss, some of your co-workers, your work space, or your pay. If that’s the case, you’re not really comfortable, are you? Your situation is simply familiar.
Our natural tendency is to center our life inside our familiar zone, doing what we’re accustomed to doing. In it, we keep familiar things, items, ideas, and behaviors that address our primary needs and help us feel safe, secure, and loved. Our familiar zone is composed of things we can exert at least a measure of influence over; usually with predictable results.
Familiar zones may seem warm and fuzzy, like an old Teddy bear. However, they’re also dangerous if you allow them to be an excuse to prevent you from moving on to a happy, fulfilled, and prosperous life. You must extend yourself and take the chances necessary for you to achieve your potential and succeed in a big way.
Let go of whatever non-productive thinking, behavior, habits, and other things that might be holding you back. It requires courage to cut the tether and venture out toward your dream, and that’s what you need to do to live up to your potential and create that create a larger vision for your life. The FUD Factor (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) comes into play any time you make a decision to take off from the ground; the familiar zone to which you’re grown accustomed.
Remember how you felt when, as a child, you left your friends behind and moved to a new neighborhood, attended a new school, or did something else that took you away? The temporary feelings or disorientation and uncertainty which come from facing the unknown, are temporary. Yet, many people strive to avoid them for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, the cost of staying safe often results in the loss of success. As Dale Carnegie once said, “All life is a chance, so take it!” The person who goes furthest is the one who is willing to do and to dare.
“Feel the fear and take off anyway!!” – Willie Johnson