Not Listening to Fear

One of the biggest fears I've had about taking this trip is that people will not understand why I'm doing this and try to freak me out (intentionally or unintentionally). Don't worry. I border on freaking myself out on a daily basis. I love to read blogs. I've found The Freedom Experiment to be very...... freeing. (I know. I hate myself too.) She had one post recently that was done by a guest writer that really spoke to me.

• Write down all your fears. Everything that could go wrong if you started to follow the path towards your dream. 
• Now write down the best outcome that would be the exact opposite of all those nightmares right next to it. 

Most of the fear we have is about the unknown. Writing down everything that could possibly happen means that you can mentally prepare yourself for what could crop up once you start on your plans. If you can deal with a small failure along the path and get back up quickly, isn’t that a success?


Isn’t the dream outcome that you wrote down worth taking a risk for? What would your life be like if you achieved that dream? How would you change for the better? So I did. I wrote down how I was afraid I was not going to make money when I get back. I wrote down that I was afraid I would get hurt while on the trip. I wrote down that I hate the idea of having to explain to people why I'm going on this trip when the economy is in such a terrible place and am I not afraid I'm making a huge mistake.

Then - I wrote down that I could get a job temping or being a waitress or doing some online work. Then I wrote down that if I get hurt, I'm going to be in Europe where there are hospitals and doctors. Then I wrote down that just because the economy is in the crapper doesn't mean that I should stay at a job I am miserable at and that even if I am making a mistake, it's better to make it than to not. Then I wrote down that perhaps I will get a job overseas or meet a man and have amazing adventures.

So I decided to not live in fear. I decided to plan as much as I could and let life determine what I should be doing. I decided to choose to be happy and to be free. And that starts with going on a trip to Europe. How that takes shape afterwards I'll figure out then. But I am not going to live in fear any more. Unless there's a bee around. Then all bets are off.