Our Deepest Fear…(7 Day “No Excuse” Challenge)

There’s a really famous passage by Marianne Williamson that begins with the words “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” (I’m sure you’ve read it/heard it/seen it somewhere.) So many times, I’ve cosigned, praised, agreed, recited and genuinely tried to believe those words. Surely, I believe them for other people in my life who seem to have overcome their fears and pursued their dreams. Can’t say the same for myself.

When Ms. Williamson very confidently states to us, her audience, that “our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate”, something in me disagrees. Because for me, that IS my deepest fear. Inadequate, not enough, not worthy, not qualified, not experienced, too ugly, not pretty, not confident enough, over emotional, too sensitive, needy, bothersome to people… need I go on? All of these things I face and live with everyday. Some days, I choose to bury them and face them later. Other days, I’m engulfed and can’t get out of their heaviness. I recognize that first line is not my reality, but…this week, I’m hoping to change that. I recognize that my deepest fears have become my excuses for everything I put off or give up on. My brain says “it’s not time” or “you don’t have time”. My heart says “I’m scared”.

For the next 7 days, including today, I’m putting away all of my excuses and finishing or pursuing everything I’ve started. First on the agenda was getting back into study mode for my personal training certification. The great thing is, this is my third round of studying this material. I know it like the back of my hand and can probably take the test in about another week if I wanted. But…let’s not get crazy. I need to study and putting off is not an option anymore. Everything I want to do in my career is dependent upon that certification. In addition to studying, I’ll be doing other things like:

• responding to important emails
• attempting to finish my vision board
• writing and finishing blog posts
• networking and meeting people/making connections
• reaching out to folks/mentors that can help me
• getting my marathon training runs done
• work on strengthening my core

…the list is endless, but 7 days is a good start. I’ll be posting each thing I do on Twitter and Facebook with the #NoExcuseChallenge hashtag and would LOVE it if you either joined me on your own pursuit to get all the excuses out of the way of your goals, or just helped to keep me accountable. I’ll need all the support I can get! Check in on me and see how I’m doing and I’ll check in on you if you choose to join me. If you do choose to join, simply tweet me with the hashtag, or comment on this post. That’s it! This challenge ends on Monday, August 1st.

I’m tired of letting fear punk me into thinking I’m not good enough. I’m determined destroy this fear at the root. What’s holding YOU back? What do you keep putting off? What’s your “go-to” excuse? Let’s make this week an awesome one!

Be Renewed

*photo from: www.mindofchampions.com