Nancy Sinatra’s song was a big hit back in 1966, sending an empowering message that not only could we get the courage to do what we needed to do, we would!
I was chatting with a good friend about taking the next steps to manifest her dreams, and as she talked about what she needed to do, she said she was “shaking in her boots about doing it.” Well, we all do that!
Working without a net isn't for everyone, but it's also a matter of perspective and degree. What's terrifying for me might be a walk in the park for you, but regardless of our yardstick on fear or risk, doing something we've never done--can be really scary. We know that if we take that next step, things will change--our lives will change.
I don't know what makes us assume that any change will be bad, but we do. The devil we know--and can mostly tolerate--is only familiar, not automatically better. Doing something new and different may be unknown and scary, but it isn't automatically worse than doing nothing. Yet, we often look for all the things that can wrong with a potential choice, and we "what if" ourselves out of exciting opportunities. Obviously, we need to realistic, but we need to give equal weight to the possibility that things could actually work out really great.
So, what do you do? Do you choose to do nothing and take no active role in your life? Or do you take the bold step and do what you really want to even if it's scary? Sure, things might not turn out exactly the way you want, but then again they might! Life is about doing. So what if you make a mistake! The only people who don't make mistakes are those who don't do anything.
In my own life, the times I've followed my heart and taken risks are the times I've felt most alive. When I held back out of fear--when I didn't do what I really wanted to because I feared how my life would change if I did--I was miserable.
Either you're actively choosing what you want in your life or you're just "letting it happen." Of course, that's a choice too--a choice not to take responsibility for your life and your happiness.
Now, we don't have to walk all over someone else or wait for someday as the song goes, but we do need to put on our big kid boots and get walking into our own lives.
So, if you’re right there, looking at what you want to do, but you’re afraid to take that next step, remember this….
Those boots aren’t made for shaking; they’re made for walking, so get to it!
Follow your heart, do what you've never done and start really living!
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Paula Renaye is a life transformation speaker, coach and award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction. Her new release, Living the Life You Love--The No-Nonsense Guide to Total Transformation will be in bookstores September 1! http://hardlineselfhelp.com
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