When aspects in our lives are changing, self-doubt works alongside our fear to obstruct us from reaching our fullest potential. Sometimes we feel stuck and don’t know what to do. Sometimes we know what to do but are terrified of what will happen if we take the first step.
Several “what if” scenarios cultivate in our minds as a result of our fears. What if I fail? What if I never measure up to my own standards? What if I put aside my fears and try conquering them, even if it means I do it scared. .
Who are we to let our fears determine the outcome of a situation before it happens?
One of my fears was writing this article, so I asked 100 people what their fears were to help me overcome mine. The responses ranged from sea creatures, snakes and spiders to the future being worse than the present. Here are a few that most of us can relate to:
“I’m scared that my AirPods aren’t connected to my phone, and I am actually blaring music while in class. The embarrassment,” said a mass communication junior.
“I’m scared of the dark because you never know what’s ahead or going on, so I guess I am scared of losing control,” said a psychology junior.
“I’m scared of large birds. I really don’t like geese. Why do they have teeth,” said a mass communication senior.
“I’m scared that I don’t really have imposter syndrome. I just actually suck, and no one is telling me,” said a mass communication junior.
“I’m scared of not being a good mom,” said a mother of three.
“I’m scared of an eternal afterlife. Eternity is a very scary thing even if it is with God,” said a kinesiology junior.
“I’m scared of not being enough, failure, disappointing people and myself, and people thinking that I am a bad person. My biggest fear is never being loved,” said a sociology senior.
“I’m scared of not ‘living’ while living,” said a mother of two.
“I’m scared of getting pregnant right now or never getting pregnant later,” said a communication studies senior.
“I’m scared that I will get old and regret my life, wishing I had done more because I’m not satisfied with the life I lived,” said a kinesiology sophomore.
“I’m scared I won’t be capable of the goals that I have for myself,” said a biology senior.
“I’m scared of change and the unknown that comes with it,” said a high school freshman.
Fear is just as valid as every other emotion is, but we can’t allow our fears to hold us back from winning at life.
To be successful, we’ve got to accomplish things, but in the process of doing that, we might face failure.
In addition to believing we should never experience failure, we often believe that we should never experience fear. We believe that those who are successful are always fearless, but truthfully, they may have a fear of failure. We all need to fail, and we all need to embrace fear.
Fear isn’t a word we like to hear, but it’s around all of us, all the time.
When we had fears as children, our parents would confirm there were no monsters underneath our beds and our night lights would protect us from the darkness that surrounded our heads. As we’ve gotten older, our sense of fear has morphed into something different. It has matured with us and at times can seem more powerful than we are.
The graphic attached to this column is a quote from George Herman Ruth Junior, better known as Babe Ruth. This well-known, high-achieving American baseball player believed that a player became a hurdle to the team the moment they began to feel fear. He challenged his teammates, and unknowingly several others, to tackle their fears and do things scared.
In less than a month, many of our lives will drastically change. Some of us will change our status from LSU student to LSU alumni. Others will pack their stuff up for the summer and prepare to return in the fall.
This transition can be scary. Even if it’s not, something else may be because everyone is fearful of something. If you claim to not have any fears, I don’t believe it.
I challenge all of us, including myself, to stop letting fear control us. We may not be able to fully conquer our fears, but we are more than capable of continuing to do things despite them.
The saying goes, if you can’t beat them, join them, so if you don’t believe that you are more powerful than your fears, have the courage to try doing them scared.
Lauren Madden is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Mandeville.
