You Are Stronger Than FEAR | 2 Minutes to Boldness

Embarassment.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything, all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure, these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.

While snowboarding last week, I saw a woman pushing herself to do something she had never done before. She was trying to land 180-degree jumps. But she kept falling. And falling. And falling. Eventually, she landed one. And then fell again. But she didn't give up trying. I thought to myself, "Wow, so cool! I want to try it!" And then I thought, I hope nobody sees me when I fall. The fear of public embarrassment almost held me back from trying. It almost made me stop pushing myself to be better and instead stay mediocre. Almost. I realized that I didn't know any of the other people on the hill and they wouldn't care if I fell. I realized that to get to my skill level now, I fell a lot and nobody laughed at me. I realized that I was watching this woman in admiration and that people looking on would secretly be cheering for me instead of mocking me. So I went for it. And after a few falls, I landed my first 180-degree jump. And it felt awesome. When you push through something scary, it builds you up and helps you grow. When you run from something scary, you live with regret and lose confidence. If you want to do something but you don't because you're afraid of being embarrassed and falling, Just go for it. People won't care if you don't make it. You'll grow stronger for stretching your comfort zone. You won't look back and say, "I wish I gave it a shot." And you've got people silently cheering you on, including me. So start. Believe.