just do it!

I’m learning to “just do it!” There are so many things I don’t do because I’m afraid it won’t be good enough, that someone else would do it better, that I will fail, that someone will think less of me or deem me inadequate or undesirable as a woman – as a person. So, one way I am challenging myself personally this year is in trying new things. Like cooking a meal I have never prepared before (which includes most meals!), crocheting hats and scarves, learning how to play chess, playing the guitar, being in charge of our team’s finances, etc. Once I “do it” I feel a rush of accomplishment as I conquer something that once brought anxiety or insecurity. I “just do it” and all of a sudden it has no power over me anymore. Any lie I believed about myself dies off. Sure, I will “fail” at some point, but 9 times out of 10, I won’t…it will be just fine.

Sometimes the reason I don’t “just do it” is simply out of laziness or complacency. I want to grow in this area too. Sometimes it’s easier to just not take initiative. But, I want to be a starter…someone who pursues, who learns, who experiences, who takes risks – and who can fail with grace and humility and follow the experience with a laugh – at myself.

The more I think about it…I can feel anxious about anything that is asked of me that I have never done before or that is not a known strength. Hanging curtains, decorating a room, mopping a floor, researching a travel destination, planning Bible lessons and crafts for children, making coffee – I KNOW – it’s crazy what I put myself through. Does anyone else do this? If only I would take one step – so often that’s all it takes, and then I’m free.

Another reason I don’t just “do it” is because there is this crippling cycle that goes something like this: I don’t “do it” because I don’t know how, and I don’t ask how because I’m embarrassed that I don’t know how, so then I never learn how, so I never “do it”. Get it?

I’m shaking head and laughing at myself as I write this…a good start, I think!