"Today I move ahead with courage."

What do you think of this affirmation?

"Today I move ahead with courage."

No matter how secure we think we are, no matter how healthy our self-images may be, we are all afraid of something. For me, it's the fear of water. As soon as the water level reaches my waist, my heart rate increases, I start to get shaky and I panic. Even putting my face into the shower spary used to frighten me and I went through all kinds of contortions to make sure my face was always free of water. Over the years, my fear has diminished somewhat but I still haven't conquered it. It's now on my list of things to do.

Can you imagine all the fun I've missed by giving in to this fear? I never learned to swim, I missed all the fun my friends had at the pool and at the beach. I was just an observer; never a participant. And, if the truth were to be told, I've always been a bit ashamed of myself for not tackling the fear and putting it behind me.

I used to be terrified of flying. I was barely able to breathe when I got on a plane. I spent the entire flight with wet palms and a racing heart. I didn't dare look out the window until we were making our final approach ~ for some reason the knowledge that we would soon be on the ground gave me a modicum of courage. Every little sound the plane made startled me and I was sure it signaled trouble. My husband wanted to go to Hawaii but I refused because I couldn't envision myself trapped in a plane for that long and, of all things, flying over water!

It took me a long time to get over that fear, but now I enjoy the flights. I don't get panicky at the mere thought of getting on a plane. I now feel comfortable enough to sleep on a plane and look out at earth below. I enjoy looking at the different cloud formations we pass through and the hum of the engines is tranquilizing. I'm even fairly composed when we fly through storms. All those years I could have been enjoying all of this instead of cringing in abject horror, sure the plane would soon plummet from the sky. And . . . I wouldn't have missed a Hawaiian vacation!

Last summer, I had a corrective procedure done on my heart. I was terrified of that. I'd put it off for seven years because the thought of it scared me so much. However, when I finally went ahead and had it done, I found out that it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd anticipated. I was proud of finally getting it done and also sorry that I'd lived so long with the daily threat of tachycardia episodes when I didn't have to.

We all have those things that scare us to death. It may be public speaking, cold-calling a prospect, getting on an airplane, going to the dentist ~ the list goes on and on. The point of all this is that we aren't living up to our full potential as long as we let fear paralyze us and prevent us from living our lives fully.

It takes courage to confront and overcome our fears ~ there's no question about that! But . . . imagine how much we stand to gain if we develop that courage and use it to travel down paths we've always been afraid to tread. Our self-confidence will soar, we'll accomplish things we never dreamed we could, and, most importantly, we'll know we have the courage to take on any challenge life presents us. Think about it and see if there's a fear that's keeping you from being the best you can be and preventing you from living a full and satisfying life. If there is, "ahead with courage"!

If I can do it, you can too.