Friday, July 24, 2009

Get back in the game - overcome the FEAR!


A good friend of mine contacted me yesterday to catch up and in the process, perhaps unwittingly, enlightened me!!

Turns out that when she started a new job about a year ago, she was in a large business meeting with her Superiors, her coleagues and her reports. She happened to be blindsided by being asked by her boss to speak -extemoraneously -on a topic she knew little about and had not been prepared to speak upon.

She did her best but it was a disaster and she left that meeting devastated, embarrassed, and disheartened. She was convinced that she had ruined her reputation, lost the respect of not only her superiors, but her colleagues and direct reports.

It ate at her day and night and she began to fear speaking at those monthly meetings! She avoided them like the plague, made excuses as to why she could not present or speak to the group.

It really wore down on her soul, her self esteem, and kept her living in a prison of fear!

That all changed last week! Finally, tired of this nagging dread and fear hanging over her head, she miraculously stepped up and volunteered to deliver a critical presentation to the same type of group!

She was beyond nervous - beyond apprehensive about the prospect of embarrassing herself even further the week before her event!

Yet, she prepared her presentation as if her life depended upon it. She practiced it over and over - visualized it constantly, anticipated questions, and despite her queasiness that morning - she DELIVERED!!

Not only delivered - but knocked it out of the park!!!

Her words: " People who have not barely uttered words to me since I began came by my office to chat - commenting on my presentation. My bosses both sent me emails telling me what a great job they thought I had done. It was crazy really."

She continued:

"You know what I took from this most? I am the same person I was BEFORE that presentation. Yet, once I overcame MY fear, and delivered what I was capable of delivering - I was PERCEIVED as a different person."

" I am not sure what I feel about that - except I do now realize that FEAR HAS TO BE removed to succeed, to live, to be at PEACE!"

She nailed it!!! FEAR - perceived or real - MUST be ERADICATED in order to live a life of peace!

It is that simple!! And that hard!!

The only way we BEAT FEAR is to SURFACE it - CONFRONT IT - let it make our knees weak, make us shake and quake ... THEN Step up and CONQUER it!!

Fear is in our minds - and CAN be overcome by surfacing the fears (whatever they may be) and then FACING them head on!

That is COURAGE and all of us are much more courageous than we know!

ALL of Us - to a person - HAS the power to overcome any FEAR - any doubt, any perceived weakness!! TODAY!! Inherent in all of us - IF we choose to believe it!!!

Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you - to walk with you - EVERY DAY! Literally ASK Him - in the morning - at night... During the day!

It only takes one request - and it will be delivered to you!

Enjoy the weekend - And be at Peace - because YOU CAN be if you simply ask!

Stay Strong!



Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

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