This is Optimal Living Daily Episode 2295, Confronting Fear by Calling It Out. And the lessons dogs teach us about life, both by Katy Ping of More of What Matters Blog.com, and I'm Justin Molick, the guy that reads to you every single day of the year, including weekends and holidays to help you live a more meaningful and positive life to post today. So let's get right to them as we optimize your life. Confronting Fear by Calling It Out by Katy Ping of More of What Matters Blog.com For the past three months, I've sat down at my laptop, written shortly thereafter, deleted the words on the page.
Sometimes I reach an entire paragraph before I stop. Other times it's a sentence or two before I hang my head and give up. Call it writer's block. Call it lack of inspiration.
Call it motherhood. Call it whatever you want, but we should really call it what it is. Fear. I'm afraid of failing.
I'm afraid of writing something that is not important or inspiring. I'm afraid of it not being perfect first. I'm afraid of starting from where I am. I'm afraid that it won't resonate with anyone.
Heck, I'm afraid that no one will read it at all. I'm afraid that I'll spend my time writing, fail, and regret having spent this time away from my baby. But more than anything, I'm afraid of how I will feel if I don't do it. And that's why I keep showing up in the first place.
Fear has prevented me from trying too hard to achieve my dreams and has plagued many life situations before they've actually happened. In fact, I was afraid to become a mother. I was afraid mothering would not come natural to me, that I wouldn't know what to do, and I wouldn't know what my baby needed. Heck, I was afraid I wouldn't even be comfortable holding him.
I was afraid of the unknowns and the things people tell you about parenting that make you wonder why anyone would ever make such a life choice. I was afraid of looking tired all the time and of raising a child away from my family and trusting others to care for my baby when I'm at work. In actuality, being a mother has been entirely natural for me. In fact, I truly feel that I was meant to do this, which amazes me because I once considered not having children at all.
And things have not been the way people make them seem chaotic, and messy, and painful, and emotional. Of course, I've had moments of each of these things, and the messes, while yes those are real, my focus is on the relationship I'm cultivating, little mind I'm helping develop, and memories we're making. The unknowns are more like adventures to me than challenges. I get decent sleep, and when I don't, it's usually my own doing, and we're surviving with our families nearby.
And while that last part about trusting others has been a particularly large hurdle as of late, but I know there's a solution of the highest good, and trust that things will fall into place. When I struggle with fear, I have to remember how wonderful things can turn out when you let them. When I'm afraid, but I do it anyway, life never ceases to surprise me. When I show up each day with a little fear, I can't help but be proud by that showing up part.
I'm choosing to live life in the flow of the universe, which means letting go of resistance and heaviness and struggle. When we let go of these things that give us tension and make us feel sluggish, we can allow in more of the things that feel light and bright, and make us feel joy. I choose to no longer make things happen. I allow things to happen, and I can allow things to happen, especially when I do it all in spite of the fears I hold.
Simply greet your fear, share with it your gratitude for its concern for you, and go on your merry way. You know you'll see it again, but it won't prevent you from doing this one thing first. The lessons dogs teach us about life by kdping of more of whatmattersblog.com. There's no joy in life much like telling a dog that they're going on a walk.
It's Christmas Day, they won the lottery, they're going to be grandparents, and they found a front row parking spot. They aren't afraid to hide their excitement either. Anyone within a five-mile radius knows how excited this moment is, with the incessant barking and the jumping. Oh, the jumping.
Now we try to keep calm, and by we I mean just me because no one else is acting calm. Nice and calm. Okay, we're taking it nice and easy. We're making our way to the door.
Meanwhile, my dogs are jumping all four feet off the ground and running circles around me. When you jingle delicious, there's even more commotion. As if the four-letter word that rhymes with smock isn't enough, the leash jingle sends them over the edge. What baffles me is they have a large fenced backyard to run around in, and they would much rather be confined to 2.5 feet in front of me, but that's beside the point, really.
I realize it's all in the adventure of new smells, new sights, and possibilities. Oh, the endless possibilities. Yesterday we got within three feet of a rabbit. It was trying to camouflage itself, and it was doing it right.
We didn't see it. It started off under a nearby bush. Though no one caught the rabbit, the possibility of catching the rabbit was enough for them. It's all in the change of routine.
In our house, they can expect the same things, the same toys, the same water and food dish, the same couch to jump on when we leave them alone. But outside the walls of the house, not in the real world, there are opportunities for big, unexpected things, for chance encounters, for daring adventures, for tail wags and rabbit snacks. But when the journey comes to an end, they're the first ones to admit how glad they are to be on. You can see it in their slowed steps.
You can hear it in their panting breath. As much as they like to get out of the house, they are happy to return to a big dish of water, blink its piled high, and adequate nap time for the next adventure. They sleep for 20 hours a day, lounge with all four paws high in the air, barely move all morning and afternoon, and they teach us so much about how we should be. Here are just a few things I've learned from Archie and Hank, and that we can all take from our companions.
Get excited about what brings you joy. Show it unabashed. Jump and run circles around people as you shout out about it. Chase the rabbit, or whatever gets you jazz.
Get outside your comfort zone, and then get cozy with what you've got. Because it's pretty great. You just listen to the post titled Confronting Fear by calling it out, and the lessons dogs teach us about life, both by KDP of more of whatmattersblog.com. I'm constantly thinking about how to optimize my health, what supplements to take, hours of sleep, what my diet should focus on.
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And head to superpower.com and use code OLD at checkout for an additional $20 off your membership. Alright, I think Katie pretty much nailed it on the head with these ones. I'll keep this ending short for today, have a great day and week, and I'll be back tomorrow for the Friday show, where your optimal life awaits.