In Spite Of Myself

By: Chioma Onyewuchi

There is a saying that the only permanent thing in life is change itself. Nothing ever stays the same forever; that’s a fact. With this realization in mind, it is futile to stand in one spot and wait for change to sweep me along with its currents.

Instead of allowing change to come to me and going into a panic state when it does, I am choosing to live a life of proactivity. I am choosing to seize life by its reins. However, I understand that moving forward can be incredibly scary. There are so many bumps along the road of life that, sometimes, it is so much easier to just stand in one spot. Staying in the same easy, complacent and comfortable position seems like the safest idea in the world. After all, who wants to ruin a good thing?

The fear of failure, the fear of risk, the fear of exposure and even the fear of success can stop me dead in my tracks. These are all legitimate fears and I constantly ask myself how I can eliminate them.

Interestingly, the more I experience, the more I realize that I can never truly eliminate fear. Fear is a necessary part of the human experience. It is there nipping at my heels any time an unfamiliar road is met. It is there when I am unsure if I can be successful at something or if I can truly do the things I say I can. In a way, fear is a part of me. I’m learning that to move forward, take risks and live the proactive life I desire, I must move forward in spite of myself. I must acknowledge those fears but move on anyway. You know why? One way or the other, I will be faced with a situation in which I have to make some sort of decision about those things I’m running away from. I might as well deal with them on my own terms while I can.

Things change, but I trust and believe that so long as my steps are ordered by God and I am moving in the direction of positive dreams and goals, I will be okay-even when I think otherwise. I can be my own worst enemy and biggest critic, but I choose to be a champion and risk-taker in spite of myself.

Don’t let yourself and your fears get in the way of your purposeful living. Look fear and your negative thoughts in the eyes and take steps in that risky direction any way. One day, soon, we’ll both look back and realize just how far we’ve come. I guarantee it!