Scared? GOOD.

At the request of a friend, I’m adapting and reposting my response from another thread of mine. His hope is that it will resonate with someone out there, and encourage you to venture beyond your own notion of what you’re capable of, and come away with a win. I share that optimism. Mostly.

If your quest to improve your health and fitness has been underway for a few weeks, even if you’re brand new you might have already bumped up against your first self-imposed barrier, a slight discomfort at the thought of doing something. Maybe you shied away from that thing. Maybe you were so lightening quick on the draw with a perfectly justifiable—no really! perfectly justifiable—reason for backing down, you never even knew you made an excuse. The next time you feel that apprehension, I hope you’ll recognize it as a signal, that to proceed in spite of it is the beginning of real transformation into something heroic.

Last year, the moment I crossed that invisible line in the gym to lift weights was terrifying. I was the dumpy, middle-aged mommy who had been getting in my own way for years. I was a throwaway, in my mind. Not even worth ridiculing. I was a monument to unrealized potential, paralyzed by fear of failure, and of success. The day of my decision I woke up in the 3 ‘o clock hour freaking about it. I MFP forumed about it. I put my husband through a worse version of this:




And then, trembling, fumbling, I did it.


My life has been absolutely transformed by that moment, that one decision. I was manic for the next several days. Then over the next year I began to test my capabilities in other arenas of my life, and soon found a love of moving that self-set limitation farther and farther away, until I just don't think about limits anymore. This has completely revived my career, made me a better partner to my husband, a better mother, daughter, friend. Now, I only think of what I want to do next, come up with a plan to get there, and execute. No wolves at my heels, no meanies in my head. If there are real people making fun of what I do, *squint, shrug* I can't see 'em from up here.

And it all started with a squat rack and a little girl who didn't want to be comfortable in her safe-bet life anymore.

When you have that moment, the first thing you want to do is make sure every other person on the planet gets to have theirs. Even and I’d venture especially, someone taking those first steps. So that’s why I hope you stay scared. Making sure you have a supportive environment is great, but don’t insulate yourself from all fear and discomfort. Don’t shield yourself from doing whatever that thing is, because passing through those cobwebs in your face will get you to the place where success lives. Don’t miss your chance to be terrified, and do it anyway.

Why can't we upvote threads like this? This is good stuff.