When’s the Last Time You Threw Yourself in the Deep End? Terri Lomax July 8, 2012 3 Comments What do you think would happen if you were thrown into a swimming pool, 12 feet deep, and you didn’t know how to swim? You may be thinking “Duh, I’d drown.” But the optimist out there would say, “I’d learn today.” By no means am I encouraging those who can’t swim to fearlessly dive into the deep end expecting to swim on account of faith, though I am a person of faith. What I am encouraging you to do, is confidently and expectantly dive into the deep end of unlimited possibilities or less figuratively speaking, emerge from your comfort zone to become the best that you can be. Fear is a paralyzing agent that attempts to hold us back. But fear is nothing more than an acronym for False. Expectations. Appearing. Real. That’s right! Fear is often a figment of our imagination, that we must channel, in order to accomplish those goals that lie beyond our comfort zone. There are several instances in my life in which I grew, solely because I chose to take action while fear resided internally. Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway During the last semester of my undergraduate career at Kutztown University, I had learned about the opportunity to apply as commencement speaker for graduation. Now I’m not a big fan of public speaking and it probably has something to do with the fact that I’m an introvert, I don’t care to be the center of attention, and I’m very comfortable behind the scenes. But for some reason, I found this daunting task, intriguing. So, I applied. Although, I was torn between two thought processes. On one hand I discouraged myself from applying. I let fear get the best of me. I thought of 101 reasons why I shouldn’t, couldn’t, and wouldn’t be chosen to speak. The first self-defeating fallacy that I told myself was, “Girl they aren’t going to choose you, you’re a little Black girl at a predominately White institution.” The other lies that I conjured up in my mind were more generic: “You don’t have anything to say!” “You can’t speak in front of more than 3000 people.” “You’re not good enough!” “Don’t you hate public speaking?” “Remember how nervous you were when you gave that class presentation? You can’t do it.” But on the other hand I found encouragement through positive mentors, friends, and family members, whom I refer to as my floaties or my support system- remember, I’m in the deep end? I’m not tryna drown. I knew that in order for me to ever truly overcome my fear of public speaking, I’d have to do just that, speak in public. The positive reinforcements that I used (with the help of my floaties) to combat the self-deprecating thoughts, sounded like this: “Imagine how proud you’ll be if you apply and you’re chosen, Think about the inspiration that you could be to others. Accomplishing this goal will give you more confidence in similar situations in the future. Your race has nothing to do with what you can accomplish.” Ultimately, I applied and I was chosen. I did very well and surprised myself! Despite my jittery nerves and my personal reservations, I felt the fear and did it anyway. This was one story of how I used fear to my advantage and succeeded, though I have had other experiences when I didn’t succeed. The point of the matter is that whatever the outcome (succeeding or not succeeding) I recognized an area for growth, found an opportunity that would allow me to buttress my weaknesses, and I pursued it. Can you think of an opportunity for growth in your life? If so, what are you waiting for? Jump into the deep end. Just don’t forget your floaties!
