The fear thing
In January, while Jae Ruax, founder of The Fiena Group, and I were catching up, she told me that the UK founding members would be heading to Portugal for a surfing adventure in June. The second she said it, I knew I had to go. Sophie Everart, total surfer babe and Mad to Live founder, who believes strongly in empowering women to play all out in life, created an amazing adventure for our crew.
It wasn’t until April that I learned the dates and location of this retreat. Lagos, a lovely beachside town in the Algarve which I remember fondly from my post-college backpacking trip from 26 years ago (time sure does fly!). I was really excited to go back to Europe after all of these years, spending a week with like-minded women who were up for magic, soul and adventure.
A few days before the trip I started to look at Sophie’s previous retreats. Suddenly, I wondered if I was in good enough shape to keep up with all of the activities. Sure, they were optional, but how was I going to miss out on any of it? And the other women on the trip, as I checked them out on social media, suddenly I realized that I was the oldest one on the trip. Another fear rearing it’s ugly head.
It’s normal for our fears to pop up when we are doing something outside of our daily routine, but I was surprised. I mean, I consider myself adventurous. I don’t perceive myself as old. I certainly haven’t been in top shape for awhile, but suddenly I was making myself wrong for it. As I’ve mentioned in many posts in the past, in my current business, I have spent most of my time feeling the fear and doing it anyway. I recognize clearly that this is how progress is made but it doesn’t mean it’s comfortable or easy.
When I am working with my clients, I am there to support them through these moments of self-doubt, fear and judgement. Most of my clients think they are alone in these feelings when in fact, anyone who is struggling with their space has to deal with them at some point.
Of course, now being on the other side of this trip, the fears were unfounded and kind of silly, but I wouldn’t have learned that if I let the fear stop me. Of course, new fears popped up along my week in Portugal, that were more serious and by working through them, I have had new revelations about myself. I have many stories to share about this trip, and I will in the coming weeks. I thought I could wrap it up in one post, but there are too many significant moments and I don’t want to water any of it down.
Please share in the comments below, what fears have held you back in your life?