Quit Stalling and Get Past the Fear

Here are two great blog posts you must read today.

The first is from Seth Godin, in its entirety because he has magical powers that allow him to say so much with so few words:

Quick shortcuts (in search of)

There aren’t many actual shortcuts.

There are merely direct paths…

Most people don’t take them, because they frighten us–too direct, I guess. It’s easy to avoid the things that frighten us if we wander around for a while. Stalling takes many forms, and one of them looks like a shortcut.

Things that look like shortcuts are actually detours (disguised as less work).

Wow, what are you doing to stall right now? Are you still studying the problem and its many possible solutions when what you really need is to DO something? Is fear stopping you?

Next, from Jon Acuff in his serious Wednesday post, The 1 question I ask when I’m afraid, comes help in overcoming the fear that Seth mentions.

Jon says, “If you ever doubt you’re creative, just look at the exquisite colors and words you give your fears”

How true, I don’t think myself a very creative person. You won’t find me in the craft store; no one would ever guess my word on Draw Something and I can’t think of one thing to create out of an empty oatmeal canister, but I too can create a fantastical story of the awful things that will happen if I take the direct path.

Jon says he often feels he is one mistake from being a hobo.

I don’t fear just writing the wrong book.

I imagine losing my job in some sort of spectacular way that prevents me from ever finding gainful employment again. I don’t just get blacklisted in one industry; I manage to get barred from every industry on the planet. My family would leave me too, because I’d be a hobo, and they wouldn’t want to be part of my new drifter lifestyle.

Riding the rails and what not. I’d kick around the Pacific Northwest and try to become a glassblower or something, but that wouldn’t work either. Ultimately, I’d fall apart and people would use me as a cautionary tale of extreme potential gone to extreme waste.

Cue mournful trumpet sound.

So how does he get past it? He asks one question.

“Where is God in this fear?”

Every time I ask that question, the answer is always the same, “Nowhere.”

You’d be surprised how very few things get out of control when they are in his hands. Never is the word that comes to mind. You’d be surprised how many situations are beyond his ability to redeem. None is the word that comes to mind. You’d be surprised how many monsters are bigger than him. Zero is the word that comes to mind.

What are you going to do today to push back your fears and get on the direct path?