Why are new things so scary?
New year, new state, new house, new job. Same me, though.
Sure, I have goals and dreams for self improvement, but I’m still me. I’m still overly cautious, eager to please and slightly terrified of trying new things. I can put on a brave face, and sometimes I actually even feel brave, but other times I have to face the reality that this stuff is scary.
It’s all bigger in your head though, than it really is in reality. You spend all this time and energy worrying and fretting in the anticipation of something that actually ends up going really well and makes your life even greater. Why do I do that?! Inherently I know it’s crazy, but there’s just that something in your brain that makes you think, “Holy crap I’m definitely going to screw this up somehow.”
Two of my dear friends from home gave me some of the best advice, though.
One gave me a sign that simply says, “Do hard things.” Just do them. Like Nike, but better.
The other shared a lovely sentiment with me, that speaks to my true book-lover heart:
She said, “It’s a new chapter of a new book with new characters!”
I love starting a new book. Learning all the backgrounds that weave the story together for all the characters. I also hate finishing a book and saying goodbye to those characters. But pretty soon, I find another great read and find myself talking about it all the time and thinking about what will happen next. What a great analogy for life. I loved and learned from all the characters in my last book, and now I get to do the same with new ones. How exciting is that? (Contrary to books though, I’m immensely grateful that I get to keep loving and learning from the characters in my last chapter!)
So maybe I can do new things, after all. Maybe I can even do hard things. Time to start a new book. Here we go!
