The sentence that changed my life.

"if it scares you, do it".

let me elaborate.

a lot of the time, fear essentially determines what choices we make. whether it's making a rational decision because of fearing a major consequence, or something as small as our subconscious 'fear of looking stupid', we deliberately cross out a lot of potential in our lives just because of fear.

how many times have you genuinely gone out of your comfort zone in the past week? done something you wouldn't normally do? approached a stranger or put yourself up for a job? think about how much our comfort zone dominates our lives. and now picture what I'm about to tell you.

i was scrolling on Pinterest almost a year and a half ago, and came across a pin that said "if it scares you, do it. fear brings change, and change brings success". for some reason, that resonated with me more than anything i had come across. so, i decided to test it out one day. i approached new people which i had never usually done spontaneously, and over time developed such strong and valuable relationships with people that may never have existed otherwise. that's when i was faced with the truth that doing what scared me, (straight-up walking towards a new group of people and pushing past the "i probably look so dumb right now" thoughts i was having), was the best decision i could have made.

throughout my life, i've been through several phases of being outgoing, introverted, spontaneous, and reserved - all completely different characteristics. but this is one thing i never want to let go of. when i go about life now and debate doing something, i ask myself one question: 'does it scare you?'

most of the time, the answer is 'yes', regardless of how minor that fear is. but then it fires an impulse within me that urges me to go ahead and do it. as a current high school student, this majorly impacted my academic experience. from someone who used to fear public speaking for a large portion of my life, this quote - and the act of following through with an action that i knew i was scared of - is what got me to put myself up for my school's Head Girl elections. when i found out 2 weeks later that i had been elected and got that honorable position, it was the most immense feeling of fulfillment and achievement.

at the moment, my biggest dream is to give a TedTalk because i've developed such an unexpected passion for speaking to a crowd that it's one of the things i look forward to doing most. speaking into a microphone unleashes excitement and serenity with me simultaneously.

one thing to remember is that regret is far more painful than the potential of being rejected. with regret, there's always a bunch of 'what if's. imagining how things could go well, or entirely wrong, can take over our minds for the rest of the day or even weeks. regretting not taking a chance feels deflating, and rejection is a situation that can be overcome, but at least you would have known the outcome because you put yourself out there and experienced it.

at the same time, keep in mind that this shouldn't interfere with your ability to differentiate between rational and completely absurd ideas. when it comes to things like sending your CV to a company, approaching someone new, or taking a personal risk, this approach comes in handy. but not when the outcome yields a clear amount of risk such as financial, physical or emotional harm.

i do encourage you to step past shallow waters whenever you can. have fun with it, and remember that sometimes, jumping into the deep end is often the best way to grow.

the takeaway:

practice being aware of things or situations that scare you. ask yourself that yes-or-no question, then just do it. (i mean at the end of the day, if things go in the totally opposite direction of what you were anticipating, you have a new crazy story to tell with a major plot twist). i guarantee that you won't regret it.