Are you playing small? Are there things you want to be doing, things you know you ought to be doing, but you are not doing them because you are scared?
I have to confess that I have been playing small. While there are areas of my life where I have been really brave (like my single mother by choice journey) there are other areas where I have a lot of fears and anxiety. Some of those areas include my home and what I do here with the brand. In both of those areas I struggle with the Joy Thieves of comparison and fear of judgement. But recently I made some progress.
This weekend at the Chasing Joy Brunch & Learn (#CJBL) I did two things that required me to work through my fears and anxieties. By work through I mean I felt fearful and anxious and did it anyway. I did not wait for the fear and anxiety to go away before taking action or I’d still be waiting. So what did I do? I spoke about the pillars of joy for an entire hour. One full hour of me talking in front of people!!! That is a big deal! Aaaannnndddd at the end of the brunch, after I’d already spoken for an hour, I launch the Joy Makeover program. A program that I first thought of over a year ago. I just kicked the Chasing Joy brand up two notches.
The other area where I play small has been with being open in my relationships in particular when it comes to inviting people into my home. I have written here before about how I never really took full ownership of my home in terms of style and how I struggle with housekeeping and clutter. So it is not easy for me to invite people who don’t already know me well into my home. But I did just that two weekends ago. I invited a new friend and fellow blogger into my home and even gave her a tour. I had so much anxiety over this and even worried about it after but I did it and we are still friends.
Two weekends and two times I stepped up and stopped playing small!!! Two times I did something that I wanted to do but had been holding off on because I had fear keep me from being my best. Two times I stopped playing small.
What about you? When was the last time you did something even though you were afraid? Has it been too long? Are you playing small?
