How to Overcome Fear

     I stood below the towering loop, my neck cramping from the height.  The roar of the cars drowned out the sound of the park each time they passed.  AAaaaaaah ROAR AAaaaaaah ROAR.
     "Well Case?" my Dad said mockingly.
     I don't remember what I said back but we turned and walked away.  My Dad giggled triumphantly.
     "At least I thought about it" I said.
     I didn't know at the moment that I would remember that sentence for the rest of my life.  There's nothing else I remember about the year I was 9 years old but my Dad never let me forget what I said that day.  Christmas dinners, my birthday, he will recant that story.  In a bad imitation of a 9 year old he will say, "At least I thought about it."
     When I sat down to write about fear it is the only story that came to mind.
     I have a lot of fears.  I use excuses to hide them.  I don't have enough time, knowledge, talent or popularity is what I think, but really I'm just afraid.  Many of the things I'm afraid of are holding me back in my business.  Here are a few:

1.  Blogging
     I used to think I didn't blog because I didn't have time, but then I read this post.  Now I realize I don't blog because I am afraid to be honest.  I'm afraid to effect my business negatively.  I'm afraid to lose my day job.  I'm afraid to cuss.  I'm afraid I'll hurt someone's feelings.  What I realize now is that the best blogs are the honest blogs, the blogs people can relate to.

2.  Rejection
     I'd like to think I don't care what people think of me but then I realized that is just an excuse to not participate.  If I don't participate people can't think I'm stupid.  I can't fail.  This is a horrible way to live.

3.  Failure
     If I tell everyone my goals, and I can't reach them, I will feel bad.  No one likes to feel bad, but most "successful" people fail many many times.  Failure is where we learn.

4.  Asking
     This is a big one for me.  I don't like talking to strangers.  I don't like asking for anything, from movie tickets to a raise.  Most of my friends and family know I will gladly let them step in and do it for me.  I think this is a result of my fear of rejection and failure.

5.  Control
      I have a hard time letting anyone do anything I can do myself (except talking to strangers).  But I find myself without enough time in a day to do everything.  If I'm going to run BeBe Babies like a business I'm going to need help. I have to find that help and let go.

     I eventually got on the loop-de-loop roller coaster.  I can do this too.  I'm not going to just think about this anymore either.

Special new design for a good friend.  She is a draft stopper and will be fighting the cold in an old drafty window.