Ever seen the show or movie “Rent”? Then you might recognize my title. That’s how many minutes there are in one year. How will you spend them? Will you spend them in fear? Or flying past the fear?
It’s easy to be fearful
I know that some of the people in my life think I’m too fearful. That I should be joining groups, or not worrying so much about what’s going on in the world.
I don’t make my choices from a place of fear — although I will readily admit that fear has at times kept me from doing things. I think we’ve probably all fallen prey to that.
The choices I make now actually come from a place of love. Of trying to do the right thing for the people in my life that I love.
What if fear is holding you back from living your life?
We all know when we’ve given in to a fear that is holding us back. The challenges we are too fearful to conquer. The missed opportunities. The fear that there won’t be enough for everyone.
When it’s a matter of the “what if” fear, not the “yes, this is actually going on” fear, then it’s time to put the fear aside. You don’t know until you try. You may fail; in that case, you will learn and get stronger.
You may succeed — imagine how good that would feel!
There is freedom waiting for you,
On the breezes of the sky,
And you ask “What if I fall?”
Oh but my darling,
What if you fly?
— Erin Hanson
The most important thing is to take that first step
We runners know that the best and worst runs begin by simply taking that first step. We set a goal, and we feel the fear, and we do it anyway. Not taking that first step? Not an option. We can always stop. Stopping is an option. Not starting? Not happening.
Fear is a good tool when it prevents us from hurting ourselves. Fear is a bad tool when it’s used as an excuse to not live to our fullest potential. — Chocolaterunsjudy
What do you fear?
Does fear hold you back in life?
What has happened in your life when you felt the fear & did it anyway?
Linking up with Zenaida Arroyo and Kim @ Kookyrunner
This week I am also joining up with the new Runners’ Roundup linkup.
Chocolaterunsjudy 
In general I’m impulsive and don’t fall prey to fear.
Of course all changes in life can be scary.
My biggest hurdle was the marathon distance and it was one the best weekends in my life.
Current fear I guess would be illness to prevent me from doing the things that bring me joy.
I do think that people do fear things but use other feelings as an excuse. They are not comfortable saying they are afraid. Society treats it like a weakness.
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I think you can be impulsive — and still fearful.
Change is definitely often scary.
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I agree on both. Some people are more fearful of new things than others.
This virus is new which is why people are scared. They are afraid that they may get it, not know it and spread it to loved ones. Perfectly reasonable fear.
Like Shathiso says, admit when it is fear.
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Very well put, Judy!
I have been looking for the source of that quote from Erin Hanson. I knew that it involved something about falling and flying but never managed to get the full quote. THANK YOU for posting it here!
I also like your last sentence: “Stopping is an option. Not starting? Not happening”. I will remember that one.
I am a fearful type – overcoming my comfort zone is one of my weekly goals that I regularly aim for.
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Ah, you’re welcome, Catrina! Google is a wonderful thing. 🙂
I wouldn’t have guessed you to be fearful at all! I can be sometimes; and sometimes not.
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Such a great post Judy!
I would say that tackling the marathon distance was an instance where I conquered my fear and didn’t let it paralyze me. Of course I was still scared even while I was training but I was proud of myself for pushing past the discomfort to achieve the goal.
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Tackling a marathon is definitely a scary prospect to most people! You absolutely should be proud of yourself for doing it — and not just once, too!
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I LOVE that last quote!! I sometimes make excuses and deep down I know it comes from a place of fear. It’s something I really have to work on and I think I’ve come far with tackling it. But I also know I have a long way to go. At least now, I admit when it is fear. I think that’s a good first step.
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I think we all have something that we put off or say we can’t do because of fear. And this year has added a lot of fuel to the fire!
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I don’t think I’m too fearful in general. I do know it’s a pretty incredible feeling to take on something scary and and do it anyways. Ahem…the marathon. THAT was a scary undertaking. I had the attitude, though, that the worst that could happen was that I wouldn’t finish, but at least I’d know I’d given it a try. Although I have not done a 50-mile, I’m not afraid of trying…just not in 2020 LOL
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Yeah, I don’t think 2020 is great year to tackle a super long race. But I can see that you’re thinking about it for the future. 🙂
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I always ask myself, which is greater the fear of failure or the fear of regret for not (fill in the blank). It’s that very question that helped me start my own business (twice), move to NYC for 7 years, and run my first marathon 🙂
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It’s funny, for me, fear isn’t really what’s held me back from tackling a marathon. I (mostly) believe that if I put my mind to it, I could do it.
I also haven’t felt that I have been at the right time for it. I know that there’s never really a “right” time, but there are definitely wrong times!
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I try not to over-think things or I’d live a lot of my life in fear. Sometimes I just have to hope for the best and go for it!
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I do often say that you have to have faith that things will work out for the best.
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I have become a lot less fearful as I age. However, these past few months have thrown everything for a loop
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That is good — it’s actually been my observation that a lot of people become more fearful as they age.
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Kind of like running an 18 mile race, but not pushing to a marathon?
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That was never about fear. In fact, not running a marathon has not (mostly) been about fear for me.
There’s been things going on in my life the last couple of years that I can’t share on the blog (not my story to tell). It was not the right time for me. Not to mention that summer was a lot like this one — extremely hot & humid!
Training for 18 miles was actually fairly simple: I trained for & ran a half, then did 3 more longer runs. That was it.
Training for a marathon isn’t quite that simple!
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I’m not sure that fear holds me back too much, but I do tend to overthink things. This year I’ve probably avoided doing things out of fear more than before but that’s because there are so many unknowns happening.
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It’s funny, I put a lot of thought into the things I do. But I also don’t think that (usually) I overthink.
This year is just different. Period.
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Thanks for getting that song stuck in my head. It’ll be here for the next several weeks. 😉
I don’t think fear holds me back under normal circumstances, but I do worry about the long-term effects of COVID. Specifically, when will I not be terrified to be out in public again? That’s a real fear right now.
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I don’t think that’s a bad son to have stuck. 🙂
I’m not terrified to go out in public, but I am definitely cautious & I keep my bubble small. That’s easier to do when you don’t have kids.
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Fear does hold me back sometimes. I wish it didn’t. Although in the past few years I have begun to take more leaps.
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I think most (not all) people have some fears that hold us back. I’m thinking about another post — because fear gets a bad rap and it can actually be a good thing sometimes!
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I’ve done some pretty scary hikes…climbing over boulders and walking on the edge of cliff, and was glad I faced my fear…and survived…lol. I’m trying to face more fears because I don’t want to miss out on anything. Great post!
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I guess I’m lucky. My husband wouldn’t be scrambling over boulders (and quite frankly that does scare me anyway) and he definitely wouldn’t want to be walking on the edge of a cliff!
I’ve faced a lot of fears, but there’s always something still out there it seems.
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I think it is even more difficult now to determine whether the decisions I make are based on fear or prudence. We leave Saturday to drive out to Colorado to visit our son and his family. we dithered around with the decision about whether to go for a long time before deciding to go (we were originally going to fly, but that was not going to happen).
And now I will be singing that song in my head for the rest of the evening! 🙂
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Not a bad ear worm, I think!
Safe travels, Laurie. It’s so hard to know what is the right thing to do in these times. I think you’ll be fine.
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Sometimes fear does hold me back. I don’t like it but at least it isn’t all of the time. One of my biggest fears was when I traveled to Ecuador and Peru. Not sure why since I was going with friends too. I had imagined I would be hiking UP to Machu Picchu and that terrified me. It was nothing like that. 🙂
Thank you for linking up with us!
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Macchu Picchu is on my bucket list! Not sure my husband could really handle it, though.
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What do you fear? Hateful & violent people.
Does fear hold you back in life? No, but lack of funds can.
What has happened in your life when you felt the fear & did it anyway? I realized I am stronger than I thought.
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I think we all have things that lack of funds prevent us from doing. Fear can hold me back sometimes, though, for sure.
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