Do Something Scary!!

So I'm reading a book right now called Transparent and it's about getting real with yourself and being honest about who you are. It's a great book for women that has been challenging my thinking lately. This last chapter I read talked about having dreams and being intentional about pursuing the dreams that God places on your heart and to live with courage and purpose. I think this is something that I am definitely working towards but it is hard sometimes to live this way, to live in a way that requires you to constantly be outside of your comfort zone. I have always been a little on the shy and reserved side but I do have the potential to put myself out there when I want to....like right now, even me writing this blog and having it out there for people to read is making my stomach twist in knots-it makes me nervous putting my heart out there for anyone to see!! I actually started this blog years ago as a way to make myself step out of my comfort zone a little bit and as you can tell it wasn't too successful since I just couldn't get myself to write. Now I'm back on it though and I'm determined to become more comfortable sharing my feelings and heart with others. I don't need to be a person who wears my heart on my sleeve and says everything that's on my mind, but I do want to be someone who isn't afraid to state how I feel. I am so self-conscious of things and worry way too much about how people will react to what I think or feel and I don't want to worry about that anymore. SOOO...my stepping out of my comfort zone will begin with blogging and hopefully progress into so much more!! I loved a quote from this book from Eleanor Roosevelt that says "do one thing everyday that scares you." I love it because I think this is such good advice-sounds a little strange but doing something scary everyday will eventually make that scary thing a whole lot less scary until you've conquered your fear of it. When I was in high school I was terrified of interacting with new people. I was super shy and afraid of conversations with strangers or being in community. I hated that I was so afraid of this and began forcing myself to do uncomfortable things. I would go to church alone and make myself sit next to someone-no buffer seats were allowed!! I would sit next to someone and force myself to say hi and introduce myself. What a crazy challenge that was...something that should be so simple but I really struggled with it. I also went on day serving trips by myself so that I would be forced to interact with strangers-this too was interesting but it's funny how much it actually helped. I remember one morning when I was about 15 and I had signed up to go serve in Chicago and I woke up feeling very overwhelmed and nervous about it-I was scared to go by myself and was about ready to cancel. I got this strong feeling though that I should go and that I was meant to go that day so I did. I ended up sitting next to this old lady in the van and we talked the entire way up to Chicago-it was so comfortable talking to her and I was just amazed at how God had provided such a wise and insightful woman for me to share that experience with. It was conversations like those that really helped me to become the person I am today-every experience leaves a mark on your life and I really believe that the "scary" experiences I put myself into were ones that really made a lasting impression on me and have helped me so much in my journey to becoming a more confident person. I was amazed that I was able to get myself out a little more and I actually became a much more open and social person from those experiences. I think there are still areas that need growth but I think that quote is powerful and that doing something scary everyday really does help to challenge you and make you into a stronger person.