(Written version)
It is that time of the year… Halloween month! Something to share about myself: I cannot for the life of me watch a horror movie. Not even a campy one. Halloween is fun for me for only two reasons: candy and trick-or-treating with my niece and nephew. Walking into a store to be terrorized by a life-size zombie? No, thank you.
However, this month also is a great opportunity to go at the heart of what often gets in the way of us taking action in the direction of what we want or even need: our fears.
I’m going to be very honest with you. I am writing this right after reviewing my financial numbers, both for myself and for AGV Services LLC. You may or may not imagine this, but that act in and of itself is a very scary one, and it activates all the voices in your head: “Am I doing this right?”, “Does this make sense?”, “Will this work?”, “Did I make a terrible mistake?”. Those fears are top of mind, and sometimes they can be harder to face and address. Some of you know exactly what I am talking about, especially as entrepreneurs. But those fears change masks to show up in other scenarios too, like when you are in the middle of a career transition and you prepare for yet another application: “Am I doing this right?”, “Does this make sense?”, “Will this work?”, “Am I making a terrible mistake?”.
Now the goal of today in this newsletter is not to bring us down and fog our minds with these questions. But it is to acknowledge them, and to accept and understand that fears are always present because they are a natural part of us. Fear makes us human, too. The question is what we do with that fear so we still get to thrive.
Here is what I offer you this week. First, shake off the energy we just brought in by connecting with all these doubts that creep in due to fear. Feel free to take a break from reading or pausing the video and playing some music or shake it off beyond what we are doing right now. Connect with your body again so you can feel the energy moving.
Now, pick a situation or scenario in your life, currently playing out or potentially coming up. Sit down with yourself and ask: “What is the thing that I am most afraid of here?” Write down without thinking about it, let the words come out. We will have plenty of time to explore that further.
My example, as I am writing this newsletter, is the fear of failure. But I know there is something else underneath the surface, and that is what we will continue exploring together in the coming weeks.
That is all for today. But because this is a tough discussion, I also want to balance it out with some joy so we are not walking around like zombies (although, that can be your Halloween costume this year!). Here are a few options for you to hop on some joy as you are wrapping up this newsletter. I offer you a song you can dance to and a cute video you can giggle to.
What insights or questions came up for you through this reflection? Reply back and let’s keep the conversation going. I will see you next week!
