Make Fear Your Closest Friend

There is one thing that each and every one of us feels...and that is fear. Fear that we just don’t have what it takes. Fear that we will settle for complacency and end up stuck in a routine of monotony that in the end will have meant nothing.

The truth is that fear can either be your greatest enemy or your greatest ally. The choice remains strictly and solely up to you.

We are all told growing up that this world is ours, and we can do whatever we want -- so shoot for the moon even if you miss you will land amongst the stars. It’s now 2013 and the real world has come knocking much more quickly than most of us care to admit. It’s now time to make choices and decisions that will affect the rest of your life.

The days of mommy and daddy saving you from yourself are coming to an end. Now you begin to for the first time truly reflect on your life and think: Am I prepared? Did I do all I could have with the time I’ve already used up to be ready for this moment? Inevitably, the answer is: "No."  Well I have news for you -- you’re not alone.

At this moment you can do one of two things. You can embrace that fear and use it as fuel, or you can let it get the best of you, look for an escape and find comfort in anyway you can. A very smart woman once said to me, “Where there is comfort there is no growth, and where there is growth there is no comfort.”

That uncomfortable feeling, that sense of fear, that feeling of not knowing what lies ahead, but still charging full steam, is what moves mountains. Overcoming that fear may be a daunting task the first time you try it, but I promise you, just like anything, the more you do it, the easier it gets.

We are all so afraid to take that first step not knowing if the ground we are about to set foot on is stable.  We know that the ground we are already on is solid, so why bother stepping foot onto unchartered territory?

What most people don’t realize is that the ground they're standing on is quicksand, and it's only a matter of time before it swallows them up into a life of complacency that you fear even more than taking that step into the unknown.

You were blessed with the life you have and are meant to live it to the fullest. You are meant to love, to get hurt, to feel the highs and lows, and the only way to do that is to take chances and face your fears. Nobody ever did anything of great importance without embracing that which he or she was uncertain of or afraid of at some point.

Take chances, embrace the fear and live uncomfortably. Nobody ever gets remembered for playing it safe and not taking chances. Always remember that pressure makes diamonds and when in doubt ask yourself the million-dollar question: What’s the worst that could happen?

Brett Goldstein | Elite.