Do You Ever Feel Happy Scared In Your Life?

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Being happy nervous after having crossed a narrow ridge without doing it on all fours | © Gerdi Verwoert 2014

Have you ever been about to do something at work that has you scared? Scared because you’re about to do something you’ve never done before! Scared because you might make a fool of yourself! Scared because you might fail!

It’s a feeling many of us are familiar with. I certainly am! I used to call it ‘being scared shitless’!

I remember sitting in the front row of an auditorium years ago, waiting to be called onto stage to do a talk. As my turn was coming up, I started to get really cold. (Always happens to me when I’m very nervous/scared.)

I also cursed myself for not putting on sensible shoes that morning. Remaining on my feet when my knees felt as if they were going to buckle was going to be hard enough in flats. How was I going to do that in high heels?

That was one of the scariest moments in my career! I only got through it by concentrating on the task at hand.

It did get a little easier with every next talk though. (And never once did I topple of my high heels.)

Since then there have been many times where I found the only way to move past my fear was to concentrate, focus on what I was about to do and then just do it.

I also found that many times my feeling scared is mixed with a sense of excitement. Excitement because even though there is a sense of (perceived) danger, there is also the knowledge I am up to the task. When fear and excitement mix like that, I’m ‘happy scared’ or ‘happy nervous’.

One of the things that have me in that energy right now is doing facebook live videos. Putting myself ‘out there’ in the wild wide world of the interwebs is scary. At the same time I’m excited about getting more visible, because that’s what I need to do if I want my ideal client to find me.

That’s why I challenge myself to do a facebook live video every day for at least the next two weeks. That’s why I did a video on Monday where I talk about ‘happy nervousness’ and how you can move through that.

Click HERE to watch the video

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I talk about

  • my passion for mountain hiking even though I’m scared of heights
  • how being happy scared helps me cross narrow ledges
  • how I felt happy scared when I left corporate
  • how I use feeling happy scared to do things in spite of fear

In doing facebook live I have to let go of the perfectionist inside me. I have to accept there are going to be things I can undoubtedly and eventually will do better. I have to trust it will get easier over time.

It took me some time to be able to recognise the difference between being plain scared and feeling happy scared.

Every time I felt fear I asked myself where it came from. Often times I did things exactly because I was afraid. (I still do.)

In doing so I learned to identify whether I was really afraid or my fear came out of a figment of my imagination. I learned to recognise what energy I was in and act accordingly.

Feeling happy scared has helped me conquer many a real and virtual mountain.

So the next time you think you are scared of doing something, go inside and analyse that fear.

Are you really scared or is there excitement too? 

Is your fear real or is it coming from a story you tell yourself?

What is the story you tell yourself and how can you change it?

How can you channel your fear and excitement to move beyond the fear?

Share your thoughts below and let me know what you think. Be as specific as you can when you share your thoughts. Other people, Trailblazers like you, will be inspired by your ideas and actions.

Thank you for reading and adding your voice to the conversation.

As always…

Go dare greatly!