Easily Crushed

The cost of inaction – the price of a decision unmade – is to hand over control to anxiety.

Anxiety is the whisper of failure that haunts the darkness, the black thing crawling down a white wall, slithering in to steal and kill and destroy.

I want to be a woman who prays and a woman who loves. I want to be a person who cherishes ideas, the fragile desires inside each of us, delicate hopes that are wispy and easily crushed. I want to be a woman who risks putting down her own masks before asking others to take risks, a woman who scorns appearances  – opting to display all facets of me – true me.

I will not let anxiety slither in and choose what is next for me.

If tomorrow if a terrible thing about me is exposed, it will launch a voyage of discovery, a journey revealing my true friends – eyes grieving with me, words encouraging me, arms embracing me.

I will emerge, a woman not easily crushed. 

Facing (and Fearing) by Dan Andrews

Greatness appeals to the future. If I can be firm enough to-day to do right, and scorn eyes, I must have done so much right before as to defend me now. Be it how it will, do right now. Always scorn appearances, and you always may. - Ralph Waldo Emerson  Trusting intuition and making decisions based on it is the most important activity of the creative artist and entrepreneur. If you are facing (and fearing) a difficult life decision, ask yourself these three questions: (1) “What are the costs of inaction?” I find it can be helpful to fight fear with fear. Fears of acting are easily and immediately articulated by our “lizard brains” (thanks Seth) e.g. what if I fail? what if I look stupid? If you systematically and clearly list the main costs of inaction, they will generally overshadow your immediate fears. (2) “What kind of person do I want to be?” I’ve found this question to be extremely useful. I admire people who act bravely and decisively. I know the only way to join their ranks is to face decisions that scare me. By seeing my actions as a path to becoming something I admire, I am more likely to act and make the tough calls. (3) “In the event of failure, could I generate an alternative positive outcome?” Imagine yourself failing to an extreme. What could you learn or do in that situation to make it a positive experience? We are generally so committed to the results we seek at the outset of a task or project that we forget about all the incredible value and experience that comes from engaging the world proactively, learning, and improving our circumstances as we go along.