Episode 763: When Fear Keeps You Stuck (Mindset & Self-Care)

EBT763 – When Fear Keeps You Stuck

Intro  00:01

Hey food bloggers. Thank you so much for joining me in this mindset and self-care focused episode here on Eat Blog Talk. One of the reasons I started a blog talk was to hold a space to talk about the importance of mindset and self-care. Being an entrepreneur can be a lot. If we are not taking care of ourselves, then getting actionable information about SEO Pinterest or whatever else is all moot. I will meet you back here every Wednesday to discuss various mindset and self-care topics. So you have the energy and space to tackle the rest.

[00:00:34]   

Hello there. Welcome back. Thank you so much for joining me this week in this episode. Today I want to talk about something that holds all of us back at some point in our lives. And for some of us it’s frequent and that is fear. Maybe it’s the fear of failure, the fear of what others are going to think.

[00:00:52]   

The fear of losing something like stability, money, approval, Fear of the unknown. There are so many forms of fear that we feel, especially as entrepreneurs and women too. We often see fear as a stop sign, as a red light that screams nope, Stop. Don’t go there. Back up. Back away. But what if fear is actually a doorway inviting you in?

[00:01:20]   

If you have ever felt frozen by fear, this conversation is for you. Keep listening. Years ago, many years ago, I was working in a corporate job that it looked perfect from the outside. It had a great paycheck, solid health insurance. The best ever. Seriously, security. And I can’t even tell you how many times I heard that phrase from well meaning friends and family.

[00:01:45]   

You have such a secure job. But inside I was completely unraveling. My boss was toxic. He was a horrible person. My mental and physical health were diminishing. They were suffering greatly. I cried in the bathroom more days than not. And honestly, the bathroom didn’t feel like the big deal. I cried in meetings regularly.

[00:02:12]   

Yeah, not good times. But despite all of that garbage, I stayed at my job because of fear. What if I can’t make money on my own? What if I fail? What if people think I’m irresponsible for leaving something so stable? At the time, our son Elijah had significant medical interventions and surgeries and appointments, so it felt like I had to stay.

[00:02:36]   

I felt trapped. I clung to that job long past the point of alignment until the decision was taken out of the equation. I was fired. And for good reason. I was a terrible employee at that point. Here is the twist of the story. The very thing I feared most became one of the best things that ever happened to me.

[00:02:56]   

Losing that job opened the door to running my own business, finding freedom, and building the life that I liven now. It turns out fear was not the stop sign I thought it was. It was actually a threshold into something way, way better. The truth is, fear is always going to show up. For you, for me, for all of us.

[00:03:17]   

But fear does not get to drive. Fear tells us you will fail. Truth tells us, but what if you fly? What if you soar? Fear says you’re not ready. Truth tells us you’re more ready than you think. Here’s a great reframe for you. Fear is not the enemy. Fear is a signal. It points toward the places where growth, freedom and aliveness live.

[00:03:43]   

So instead of asking, how do I get rid of this fear? Try asking, what doorway is this pointing me toward? What blessings am I going to find once I enter? Here’s my invitation for you today. Take one small step in the direction of your fear. If you are afraid of starting something new, maybe it’s a project or a business or working out or finding a brand to work with.

[00:04:07]   

Whatever it is, do the thing. Write the first sentence, send the email, make the call. Take the first step. Lift the first weight. Just do it. If you are afraid of disappointing someone, practice saying no just once today and see how that feels. If you are afraid in investing in yourself, dip a toe in with one small aligned choice and from there notice what happens.

[00:04:32]   

Fear might still be there, but it definitely loses its grip when you take action anyway. Because courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is taking action with fear right beside you. If you’ve ever felt stuck because of fear, you’re not alone. I’m here with you. I have done so many things with fear in the passenger seat.

[00:04:56]   

Know this. You’re braver than you think. I promise. In my upcoming book, Take the Exit, I share the messy, surprising ways fear ended up becoming my teacher and the doorway into freedom for me and my family. So if you’ve ever wondered what if I could move past this, this book is for you.

[00:05:17]   

Go to eatblogtalk.com/takethexit to join the list. You’ll get early details, sneak peeks and the chance to pre-order Fear is not the end of your story. It’s the threshold to the life you have been longing for. I hope you liked this episode. I’ll see you back here next time. Thanks for listening.

Outro 

Thank you so much for listening to this mindset and self care episode. These mindset episodes are now available on YouTube, so watch it over there. Search Eat Blog Talk on YouTube and we’ll see you there.