Jan 11, 2013

MAKING THINGS HAPPEN IN 2013: NAME YOUR FEAR

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To name your fears is to destroy them. Are you feeling overwhelmed, in a hurry and stressed as you read this right now? Hello. Welcome to a little mental break. Imagine I’m sitting right in front of you, looking you in the eyes… take a deep breath : ) I have an important question for you today that will hopefully help you feel much better and take some of the weight off your shoulders. Ready? What’s the one thing you have put off doing this week out of fear? A powerful truth: acting on your fear will give you wings. Like the Red Bull kind of wings: energy, freedom, focus, clarity, drive and powerful momentum! When we break through and DO that thing that has been nagging at us, keeping us up at night, waiting for us to take action on it – no matter how big or seemingly small – life changes.

Your challenge for today is simple but profound: write one thing you’ve been putting off doing – whether business or personal – out of fear. I encourage you to comment here with your fear for accountability and you just might inspire someone else! I’ll comment with my fear too and then let you know about my progress later. The most important part of this challenge is to write down your honest fear. Be real. Write it out. Let that fear wash over you. Feel it. Fear won’t kill you, OK? It’s just fear, not lava. It’s there to teach you and you decide what to do with it. You have the reins.

Write down what you’ve been putting off out of fear, then, write three tiny baby mini action steps. Then… do them. If you want change, choose it. Act, make the call, love, dive in, forgive, give it all. Make a decision. Life is too short. Maybe it’s a phone call you need to make, an email you need to send, a conversation you need to start – whatever it is… lean into it. I worked hard to face a lot of fear this week. Honestly, I had so much fear in writing every single one of these steps! Thanks to your encouragement – and your incredible progress every day – I prayed a LOT and I put one foot in front of the other to make it happen. And I’m not about to stop! Life is too short not to realize your full potential by facing your fear head on.

Fill in this sentence right now:

My life is too short to/not to _________.

Comment with your answer below for accountability and to be entered to win a one-on-one session with me or prints from my new shop that will launch soon! There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear… – 1 John 4:18 Act on your fear. Tiny action. Big results. Dive in!

PREVIOUSLY: And, friends, it’s never too late to start this process. There is NOTHING MAGICAL ABOUT JANUARY 1ST!

GOAL SETTING FOR 2013, Part 1
GOAL SETTING FOR 2013, Part 2
GOAL SETTING FOR 2013, Part 3
GOAL SETTING FOR 2013, Part 4
GOAL SETTING FOR 2013, Part 5
MAKING THINGS HAPPEN IN 2013: CLEAR THE CLUTTER
MAKING THINGS HAPPEN IN 2013: PREPARE FOR GREATNESS
MAKING THINGS HAPPEN IN 2013: TAKE A BREAK!

P.S. Remember to prepare for greatness next week and kick the social media to the curb this weekend. You can DO IT! I know you can. I did and it has changed my life forever.

45 Comments

  1. (@laracasey) (@laracasey) on January 11, 2013 at 8:31 am

    What’s the one thing you’ve been putting off out of fear this week? To name your fears is to destroy them: https://t.co/Oee3VaKa

    • Ashley Terry on January 11, 2013 at 9:20 am

      Something I’ve been putting off this week: planning a small get together for the new moms in my life. Why? (1)I’m afraid everyone will be too busy to come and (2)I’m not very confident at entertaining. This week I’m going to (1)decide on a date, (2) invite the girls, and (3) plan an easy but fun and special menu. My life is too short not to build these relationships with the other moms in my life. The good Lord knows we need each other’s support!

  2. Monica T Smith on January 11, 2013 at 8:54 am

    Lara;
    Taking consistent action steps after facing fear head-on is probably the biggest obstacle in my life. So here is my list:
    1. There are two things I have been putting off this week – following up on a job opportunity and going forward with building a Mary Kay business as part of my life/vocation mission.
    2. Mini action steps to be taken today – make the phone call to check on the job; make a potential client list to contact for my business and decide what to say; clean out clutter to see what I can sell and invest that money into my business.
    3. My life is too short to/not to move forward and build the business/ministry God has laid on my heart.

    Thanks for this exercise!

    Be blessed,
    Monica

  3. Brittany on January 11, 2013 at 9:12 am

    My big fear is of failure. I’ve known it for a while, but I’ve joined a group of God-sized dreamers and we had to post about our goals & dreams and I couldn’t post about my dreams until I’d gotten my fear out of the way. Even just posting about it made me feel so much better and I’m really excited to be brave this year and follow through on some of those dreams – my life is too short not to!

  4. @ileark on January 11, 2013 at 9:33 am

    “@laracasey: Whats the one thing you’ve been putting off out of fear this week? To name your fears is to destroy them: https://t.co/qYXGG3sP

  5. Mary on January 11, 2013 at 10:50 am

    My life is too short not to try new/hard things. I am always so afraid of not reaching perfection on the first try at things and so I just don’t do them. My goal for 2013 is to grow in my photography but I’m paralyzed with this fear and have stopped moving forward.

  6. Ziza on January 11, 2013 at 11:03 am

    My life is too short to not pursue what I love whole.heart.ed.ly, not letting the imaginary opinions of others (or the unrealized fears in myself) have the final say. There is power in just repeating that to myself anew every morning or when I want to settle for less. Thanks again, Lara. Woo!!

  7. Emily on January 11, 2013 at 11:49 am

    …not to live it with intention
    And that doesn’t have to mean being so structured/scheduled that I become completely inflexible like those in my family tend to. It means knowing what I want out of each day and not letting life happen to me as much as it has this past year.

  8. Jordan on January 11, 2013 at 12:14 pm

    Completely terrified to look at criticisms on my thesis from my hardest, most abrasive, and sometimes downright rude professor-which I need to do in order to revise it. I haven’t even opened the envelope, and I’m already wincing just thinking about it, but I’m going to do it today because of this post. Thank you for that, from the bottom of my little anxious heart.

  9. Sarah on January 11, 2013 at 12:39 pm

    Change. I so badly want to grow, follow through with intention, and change my habits, yet there is uncomfortableness in change, unknown in change, and fear. Today I will take the advice that I know, the greatness I can achieve by changing my habits and work efficiently. My small steps…. 1) only check email and social media at 1p and 4p today. 2) Focus on one client order at a time, instead of multitasking. 3) write down my three doable work tasks today and complete one at a time.
    My word for 2013 is grow, so I need to get used to change 😉

  10. Shay Cochrane on January 11, 2013 at 2:15 pm

    My life is too short (and I am too blessed) to be complaining or lacking consistent deep down joy in 2013. Setting my heart and mind on scripture and attempting to submerge my life in it to kick complaining to the curb in our house this year and to replace it with a heart of gratitude and joy in the Lord!

  11. Madelyn Ridgeway on January 11, 2013 at 2:19 pm

    My life is too short to/not to set big goals.

    Everyday for the past two weeks I’ve been saying “today I’m going to Lara’s website and starting my goal setting for 2013” yet everyday, I waste time on instagram, facebook or blogs and put off getting started on my dreams while I read about others living theirs.

    For years I’ve been working on starting my event planning business and I keep putting it off for various reasons mainly “wanting everything perfect before I start. I’ve put off moving forward out of fear of not being good enough and failing. This creates a terrible cycle; Wait until things are perfect, never act on my dreams, feel like a failure for never starting.

    It’s time to stop the cycle and start somewhere! Thank for pouring your heart out and pushing others to be their best.

  12. Amanda on January 11, 2013 at 2:42 pm

    Not going to lie I have LOVED doing all of these steps but THIS one?! It’s making me break out in a hot sweat just like it did at MTH… But I saw at MTH just how much less power my fears have if I name them so here we go…

    My life is FAR to short not to realize that I AM WORTH IT!!

    My life is FAR to short not to take ACTION!! <– my word for 2013

  13. Pam Parker on January 11, 2013 at 5:16 pm

    Thank you Lara! This step always hangs me up a bit.

  14. Laura Barnes on January 11, 2013 at 5:31 pm

    My life is too short not to smile daily!

    Enjoy your weekday!

  15. Erika on January 11, 2013 at 5:42 pm

    Swallowing a big pill of fear and procrastination for the weekend. Digging in to finish this series and hit publish on my blog in hopes of inspiring others. Scary! Social media free weekend starts now to fully enjoy visiting friends and my loved ones at home.

    How could I miss the chance on the webinar?! Love them and the power they give.

  16. Suzanne on January 11, 2013 at 8:55 pm

    You nailed it! It absolutely comes down to fear. I’ve been putting off taking action on a few goals for months because I’m absolutely afraid of it being too hard and failing. So with a lot of other ladies that have posted … my life is too short not to try!

  17. Mary Coules on January 11, 2013 at 8:59 pm

    The ONE thing I have been putting off this week out of FEAR is letting GO of clutter. It seems to be so overwhelming to me. How could I be in this situation? How could having ONE child create so many “I am going to save THIS special thing for later” treasures. Why is it so hard to let go of? How did I get this much stuff? Why do I think I can use it for something amazing ONE day? Somehow all the questions get me so overwhelmed I feel upset before I have even started. Is that the craziest thing you have ever heard?
    In my heart I know the beautiful “stuff” is just holding me back. My heart knows there is very little meaning in these personal items. I know that God has a plan for me and I have faith that I just need to remember this.
    Letting go of clutter is my fear. My life is too short to hold onto “things” I may need one day. My life is to short not to live in an environment that inspires me and fills my heart with joy. Thank you for all your support by just being you!

  18. Jaclyn on January 12, 2013 at 1:05 am

    I have been afraid of accounting all week (since starting back to work) – and I feel so dumb for being scared because I actually have a handle on it! It’s just a big responsibility and I dread messing up or a client freaking out (ah…assistant life). It’s not like when I was starting out and really didn’t know what I was doing, but that initial feat still causes me to put it off and then I’m frantic. My life is far too short to let my head get in the way- I think that’s what the above really boils down to. Over thinking! Ugh. Working on it 🙂

  19. Stacy on January 12, 2013 at 9:04 am

    The one thing I’ve been putting off doing out of fear is completely trusting myself. Trusting myself, in two ways – one is doing the work I know I can do and putting myself out there to find the right clients that fit my overall business vision. The other way is trusting myself to stop holding myself back with the amount of weight I’ve gained over the past 5 years (I’ve never said is out loud but I’ve gained 100 pounds in the last 5 years). These two go together because I’m using the weight as a way to hold myself back from living a better life and it holds me back because I feel I’m not able to do better work when I’m overweight. It was at MTH last year that I realized I have this fear to trust myself and when I got home, I realized I have not been doing the work I’m proud of. I feel winning a seat to the Powerful Brand webinar series will help me put all the pieces together to make my business more me and something I’m proud of. And hopefully I will not doubt myself so much and this feeling of trusting myself will not be my biggest fear.

  20. Jessica on January 12, 2013 at 10:55 am

    The thing I have been fearing the most this week–and a lot of weeks before this one–is starting a blog. I am such a perfectionist and I can’t help but feel that my first post needs to be some all-encompassing polished representation of ME!!…(in an Elle Woods voice). I need to just do it and trust that God will lead me in the right direction.

    • Eboné Smiley on January 13, 2013 at 4:08 am

      Done is better than perfect. <– My favorite Lara-isms

  21. Jenna Miller on January 12, 2013 at 1:27 pm
  22. Laura on January 12, 2013 at 2:07 pm

    I have a fear of leaving the security of a job that is going nowhere, though I want to so bad. I need a change so bad, I am so talented and I do nothing with it. I mind escape on all social medias and blogs looking at what others are doing. When I could be doing it and thriving. I want to thrive, radiate run right from this fear that envelops me. All I need to do is sit down and start making and creating.

  23. Ashlee on January 12, 2013 at 8:55 pm

    Hi Lara! I was sent here by Ashlee Proffitt’s blog and I can’t thank either of you enough! Since yesterday afternoon I’ve read every blog post in this series at least twice (and the “to name your fears” post twice) and I barely have the words to express how big of an impact it’s had on me! I really haven’t even had time to process everything and write down all my thoughts in my journal yet. So for now I’ll just say thank you and go do a ton of writing, reflecting and praying! God Bless!

  24. Mackenzie on January 12, 2013 at 9:14 pm

    I’m completely terrified to work on my calculus practice test. It will point out every flaw and the fact that I didn’t make study guides for each chapter will make it even harder for me to do. I know I need to face the issues but I feel like a complete failure and I haven’t barely made any progress. I don’t know why I feel like the practice test needs to be perfect…progress not perfection, right? But my action steps for this afternoon are overwhelming, I had 15-19 and only did 4. Four. Yikes. Praying for the wisdom and confidence to keep going, to see my finals as only finals, not all-consuming worth-meters. I broke my social media free weekend to read your post and it was exactly what I needed. Sometimes you need to break the rules to be told you need to feel the fear and do it anyways.

  25. Annie on January 13, 2013 at 3:27 am

    Well this is getting to the heart of it! Thank you, as always, for the encouragement and push forwards. I fear giving presentations. Yes, while part of it is the “but everyone will be looking at ME (and my red cheeks)” worry, the bigger concern is “but now everyone will know what I think and do… and what if I’m WRONG”. I am to give a talk at work, to my fellow dietitians, on counselling skills. How to talk to clients, how to understand and read-between-the-body-language-lines, and importantly, how I drive behaviour change. You know, just the BIGGIES of the world of weight loss and diabetes care. Eek! I know my stuff (I know I do) and I have lots of ideas ready to go onto paper (or rather powerpoint), but what if they’re not right, and what if my colleagues find it… boring, pointless even, a waste of their (and my) time!? They all live in the world of acute care, while I’m always banging on about instilling LONG TERM change. However, planning is in process. I have now set the date for my talks, Counselling Skills for Dietitians part 1 and (I must be mad) even a Counselling Skills for Dietitians part 2! I have emailed the department last Friday to say I will be head-down-tail-up in my office this coming Monday and Tuesday – designated and protected time to work on creating what I hope to be a very educational and (I hope, I hope, I hope) INSPIRATIONAL presentation. Because telling and management are one thing, but leading and therefore inspiring is a completely different ball game (but the one I want to be able to give).

  26. Jasmine on January 13, 2013 at 5:39 am

    My life is too short to worry about FAILURE. If I fail, I will hold my head up high and start over. Do I already do this? No. But I want to. I really want to act on a few things I have planned for 2013-14 for my business. Most people have financial fears, I’m lucky that I don’t. I’m just worried about disappointing my perfectionist self.

    My life is too short NOT to: enjoy my kids’ littleness. They are the cutest and most fun things in my life right now. I cannot and will not push them to the side for MORE of everything else. I SO don’t want to regret all that wasted time. I want to make things happen for IDEA! event + style, but more than anything else, I want to make memories happen with my little family. I know when I’m 75 years old and sitting on that proverbial porch, those are the things I will cherish most.

  27. allison p. on January 13, 2013 at 8:41 am

    You are so very right! Thank you for your words of wisdom and encouragement. One of my goals for the year is to be able to interpret for a Deaf friend at church. All of last week and the first half of this week, practicing American Sign Language was nagging at me, but I kept putting it off. Around Wednesday, I decided to take a little time from my morning to just sit down and practice for a few minutes. Just spending a few minutes time on my goal gave me the confidence that I can learn new things. It was totally empowering, and now instead of dreading it, I want to practice more. My life is too short to let fear take the reins!

  28. katyrenee on January 13, 2013 at 1:28 pm

    I’ve been putting off healthy eating. Not sure what I fear exactly with this–but it is definitely what I’ve been avoiding this week!

    My other fear is stillness. I’m so busy, busy, busy–with piddly stuff. What will I discover in the stillness??

  29. Jessica Chavez on January 14, 2013 at 12:43 am

    My life is too short to/not to seek God and discover His true plans for my life. It might seem silly that I’m writing this one down, but the truth is that not knowing scares me. I’ve been ‘trying’ to figure out without actually trusting that God will show me the way; the moments of pain are still fresh in my memory that I’m scared God will allow me to go through another one; however I know this, God IS good, He has allowed me to go through these things to become aware of His mercy, love and above all grace.
    So I want to know, I want to dig deep into His word and pray for Him to reveal clearly what He wants me to do <3

  30. Elizabeth on January 14, 2013 at 9:29 am

    Lara, I just wanted to check in and let you know about my progress. I’ve followed along with each step and i’m keeping a journal with notes, goals, etc to keep me on progress. It’s a great way to look back at what I will accomplish for 2013 and also to re-read some strong points of your goal posts. Anyway,I took my first social media vacation this weekend and it was so freeing!!! I knew I spent a lot of time on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest, but I never knew exactly how much time till this weekend. I got so much accomplished. For one, a task I had been putting off for months is now done. My husband and I spent a good two hours talking after Ella had went to bed which was so refreshing. Anyway, I’m SOOOOOOOO excited about your series and I’m hoping my hard work is truly going to pay off.

  31. Michelle Boyd on January 16, 2013 at 3:11 pm

    My life is too short not to dive into studying Jesus’ words with all I have within me, and it is WAY too short to not accept and pour out the grace He has given me. It is too short to be content!

  32. meg on January 19, 2013 at 7:02 pm

    my life is to short to not complete a sprint triathlon. no more excused. i need to embrace my body and live as healthy as a i can to give a good example for my boys.

  33. Victoria C on January 20, 2013 at 7:54 am

    My biggest fear is making phone calls! I stress so much about them! I don’t understand why because when I talk to people face to face I might be nervous but a lot less so. My life is too short to put off making important phone calls.

  34. Madeleine on January 21, 2013 at 5:31 pm

    My life is too short to stand in the corner when I can be the life of the party!

  35. Jasmine on February 1, 2013 at 11:52 am

    There is so much that I’ve been putting off due to fear. I keep hiding from relationships in my professional life because I’m worried that I don’t bring enough to the table. I’ll bet I’ve missed opportunities because of this bad habit. I’ve been putting off completing products to add to my to-be-launched etsy shoppe because I’m terrified that people won’t like them or that no one will buy them, even though I see a huge gap in the market for what I want to create. My life is too short to keep spending it worried about being judged for following my heart. My life is too short to keep HIDING who I am and what I love. My life is WAY too short to keep feeling like I am not enough!

  36. Sarah on February 17, 2013 at 10:15 pm

    I have been afraid of studying the Word. I know I desperately need to spend time with the Lord through His Word. Sometimes I am afraid I will misinterpret it or misunderstand it. The three steps I am going to take when I finish typing are…
    1. Ask the Lord to guide me, to give me an unquenchable thirst for His living and active Word and to speak to my heart as I read it.
    2. Pick up that hermeneutics book my husband is reading for class and study it. I want to learn more about understanding the context of Scripture so that I understand the intent of the author instead of attempting to bring meaning to the text.
    3. Read my Bible. Whether I feel like it or not, I want to read it every single day.

    • admin on February 18, 2013 at 6:18 pm

      I felt the same fears at first : ) One really important thing is to use a Bible translation that you can understand well. i really love the NIV and NLT translations. And one thing that helped me a lot is to try to read whole books rather than jumping around. I like just reading a verse here and there but found so much more understanding when I started reading whole books. A great one to start with is Mark : )

  37. Liz on February 18, 2013 at 3:37 pm

    Life is too short for me not to create visual projects with real meaning that bring joy to others and celebrate their real lives and experiences. I have a secret project I want to create and work on this year involving my mum and her wonderful circle of friends from nursing school. But it involves a heap of organizing, logistics, travel, learning new equipment, basically setting myself up as a one woman photography/film entity to create this. I have been putting off emailing all these women to set up a date to do all this, because I am afraid that it just won’t work out both on a creative and technical front. All I really need to do is send an email. And email is just a bunch of decisions 🙂

    • Sarah on February 25, 2013 at 10:48 pm

      Thanks for the great tips Lara! I’m in Ruth right now and LOVING it!

  38. Carrie Joy on April 11, 2013 at 6:57 pm

    Life is too short not to be vulnerable with other people. I work so hard at perfection… I want everyone to see me as perfect, so I put my best self out there & hide the parts I don’t want others to see or know about. But as I’m learning in a couple of my relationships right now, there’s such a freedom in being open & honest and such a depth that comes when I live that way in relationships. I need to face my fear of not being perfect, messing up, somehow letting others down & just be honest.

  39. sarah on April 30, 2013 at 3:50 am

    my life is too short… to not make decisions.
    fear of making the wrong decisions about starting my business. fear that the decision to invest that money will go to waste. fear to make any type of decisions regarding everything that has to do with it.

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