{"id":43777,"date":"2020-08-21T17:02:32","date_gmt":"2020-08-21T09:02:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pikaland.com\/staging\/?p=43777"},"modified":"2020-08-21T17:24:13","modified_gmt":"2020-08-21T09:24:13","slug":"how-to-overcome-the-fear-of-trying-something-new","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.pikaland.com\/staging\/2020\/08\/21\/how-to-overcome-the-fear-of-trying-something-new\/","title":{"rendered":"How to overcome the fear of trying something new"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Credit: Dive by Madame Lolina<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Trying something new can be scary, and sometimes, there\u2019s nothing that anyone can say or do to make those feelings go away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have no magic answer that will make all those fears and insecurities go away, but only one piece of advice that has worked incredibly well for me: just jump right in. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine taking your first dive into a cold, icy pool when you\u2019re shivering from the chill morning air. I don\u2019t know about you, but I\u2019d much rather be in my warm bed, snuggled up in my blanket, instead of having to face that container of water that keeps lapping at my toes as I wince with dread. Though I love swimming, I absolutely hate that first contact between my body and the water. Every time. So I do what I normally do: tell myself that it\u2019s going to be okay, close my eyes, dive right in, and keep on swimming until I\u2019ve covered a whole lap without stopping. And when I emerge, it\u2019s as though my fears had never existed in the first place, and I was in the flow of things \u2013 quite literally. If I had let my feelings about taking that first leap overpower my love for swimming, then I\u2019d forever be on dry land. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t just go back to bed.<\/strong>
Diving right in is also the best way to learn if this new thing is something you\u2019ll like (even if you\u2019re rubbish at it at first). When an idea is just in our heads, we glorify it a little. We imagine how great something is, only to be disappointed when what we churn out is not that great (which almost always happens when you\u2019re a beginner \u2013 we all suck in the beginning, there\u2019s no getting around it). The sooner you get over this thought of wanting to be the best at what you do right off the bat, and ignore damaging ones that tell you that if you\u2019re not good at it then you must not be talented in it, the better. That\u2019s just your brain craving to crawl back to bed, where it\u2019s warm, familiar and safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The beautiful thing about doing, is that you also learn something new about yourself along the way. You\u2019ll also get better at what you\u2019re doing. But only, and only if, you like it enough to plod through the hard, difficult stuff, and wade through the feelings of inadequacy that inevitably follows an apprentice. The utter anguish of having to re-do something because if you don\u2019t \u2013 even though no one would notice it but you \u2013 you can\u2019t live with the thought that you could have done better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So you do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You unpick those stitches, and do it all over again.
You start with a new sheet of paper.
You rework that lump of clay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You do it because your love of the unknown is stronger than the shackles that keep you in place, right where you are. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Add in a bit of time, patience, and some good old fashioned elbow grease, and you\u2019ll soon realise that whatever you\u2019re doing is no longer new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s now a part of you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The water may be icy cold wherever you are, but there\u2019s no better time to dive right in.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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