No fear!

Marc and I watched the movie "After Earth" last night.  To be honest, the movie was not all that great.  But Will Smith - who is, in my opinion, a masterful actor - had a speech about 3/4 into the movie that really resonated with me.  He said - to his son that was facing danger:

"Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future. It is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist. That is near insanity. Do not misunderstand me danger is very real but fear is a choice." 

Wow!  How true is that?  There are many things that hold us back in life, but one of them is our fear.  Fear steals dreams.  Fear makes us stagnant.

This week I was talking to a co-worker who is running her first half marathon this weekend.  The longest she has ever run is 10 miles and she said that she was scared.  I asked her what is the absolute WORST thing that could happen.  She said that she would have to walk some of it.  And I said "Yup!"  And she said that she did not WANT to walk any of it.  And I said "But if that's the worst thing that can happen - that's not so bad!!"

Some people say they are afraid to lose weight because of a variety of reasons - fear of attention from men, fear of extra skin, fear of jealousy by a spouse or relatives.  People are afraid to start at the gym because they will "look silly" or they are afraid to go to Zumba class because they are afraid they will be the "fattest" person in the room.

And how about bigger dreams?  How about starting a family or climbing a mountain or traveling to a foreign country?  

Is fear holding you back?  Are you not achieving your dreams because of something - as this speech said - of something that does not exist at present and may not ever exist.

Don't let fear hold you back.  Change is scary.  Pushing outside your comfort limits can open a whole world of good and bad.  But just think of what COULD BE.  So hit the gym, join that dating website, try squid, wear the skirt to work that you are afraid is too short.  NO FEAR.