Nike was onto something when they developed their world-famous mantra.Just Do It.
I actually think I subconsciously adopted the motto without realizing it...only mine sounded a bit more like, 'I'm just gonna do it...'
My eldest brother and I had a conversation last night about what life would look like without fear and how much fear affects the entirety of our being. He made a lot of good points (he's real wise) about what it would look like to do whatever we wanted to if fear wasn't a factor. That being brave or courageous has everything to do with fear existing and us still doing what we long to regardless. That the presence of fear deters us from doing the very things we are called to do, passionate about, created to do...and it often changes everything for us because we are driven by the fear, instead of forging through the fear into something greater. And then he said, 'That's kind of what you're doing right now.'
Hold up.
Me...? ...brave? ...courageous?
It's kind of laughable.
But, I've been thinking about it... (of course).
It's true that my life is currently riddled with scary junk and the constant fears of the unknown. And as I've taken steps toward new and different things, I realized that my attitude hasn't been one of 'No Fear' (I suppose this post is all about clothing brands).
By that, I mean that my focus hasn't been consumed by longings to not be afraid...because I think my reality is that some things are just going to be scary. I can't change that. Leaving everything behind and attempting to start over will do that to you. Leaving everything behind in a weird camp setting and starting over in the 'real world' seems to enhance those fears even more. I can easily nestle into a world of 'what-ifs' and worst-case-scenarios and suddenly the fears become crippling. This is where Nike comes in. Instead of trying to push away all these fears, I think lately I've kind of moved toward a, 'Oh well...I'm just gonna do it'.
Come into my mind with me for a moment:
I'm going to Africa in a few days. If I think about it too long, my mind can go crazy with all the possibilities of what could go wrong: missing flight connections, not finding team members, crashing in the Atlantic, getting attacked, having things stolen, getting malaria, losing my underwear (it's happened before), failing at leading a completely different culture through a camp experience....you name it, and I've probably considered it. Conclusion? 'Oh well... I'm just gonna do it'.
I'm moving to new place, starting grad school and I barely know anyone. Will I find friends, will I find purpose, will I find a job, will I make enough money to cover necessary expenses, will I fail in the academic world, am I too socially awkward to communicate with normal people now? 'Oh well...I'm just gonna do it'.
So rather than letting the fear paralyze me, I suppose I'm forging through the fear.
It's risky and it's unknown, but I'm not too worried about it. At some point, the thousands of things that could go wrong, the thousands of what-ifs, the thousands of excuses and reasons to not do something... they are no longer the deciding factors any more.
Just do it.
Whatever it is you are called to, whatever it is you are passionate about, whatever your dreams are...whatever the Lord asks you to do.. do it. There's no reason good enough to not do it. Don't get so consumed with praying against the fear existing...but, instead, pray that you would walk bravely and courageously through the fear, proclaiming that in the name of Jesus it has no hold on you.
I also think that maybe too often we get caught up in being frustrated with ourselves that we're scared and thinking that we shouldn't be...and then all of our attention turns to attempting to extract the fear from our lives. It seems to become a distraction from simply doing what we were trying to do in the first place. And I think that once we just start doing the things we were scared of, we realize that they actually aren't that scary at all...that maybe we were more ready than we realized. We find ourselves living out the adventure instead of being where we were, scared of everything the adventure might entail.
Don't focus on living a life of 'No Fear'. Just Do It. Do life...live life. To the fullest!
Push through the fear, because it will exist.... but don't let it define you, don't let it alter your course, don't let it cripple you.
Do what you were made to do...in the little things and the big things.
Be brave and courageous in the presence of the fear, and trust that you're not alone in the journey.
It's worth it.
I promise.
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