Queen, Step Up!

Now is the time to step up and get outside of your comfort zone. There is much growth waiting for you and your life outside of your “box”.

"Once you climb your way out of your "box", your experiences will be the reason you never go back." — Jennifer Sumter

I have been taking every opportunity to seize the moments of going outside of my norm. I usually get extremely nervous to go to events that I know will help me with my goals and aspirations and then I get a little stuck, but I whisper a prayer and I’m ready to go. I’m reminded of an entrepreneur event I went to that was hosted by Daymond John called The Success Formula. I was supposed to go with my cousin, but she had to take her mom to the doctor that morning, so I had to go alone. When I got there, I was nervous because I was alone, and I didn’t know what to expect! I basically walked into it blind. See, I’m the type of person who wants to know every single detail so I can prepare myself but that went straight out the window. I wasn’t going to get out of the car to go inside but I’m thinking, I did not waste my gas to come all the way here just to back out and quit. So, I put my big girl pants on, went inside and faced the music. Things went well. I was in my element, I was comfortable, and open to accepting whatever the event entailed. I even got acknowledge by the shark himself through Instagram. When I got home from the event, I posted about how I felt and how nervous I was and how I overcame that. He then mentioned me on his personal Instagram page and that lit my fire. That’s one of my biggest moments so far in life that I feel is a huge accomplishment. To be recognized for bravery for stepping out of my comfort zone and overcoming fear as well as being recognized for taking the necessary steps and actions to following my dream of becoming an entrepreneur was big. His caption for my photo was, “Life is too short to be working for someone else’s dream.” That moment would have never happened if I decided to punk out, turn back around to head on the interstate to go back home. He would’ve never known who I was, what my goals were, my determination, my overcoming, me stepping out of my comfort zone, facing my fears, and how much I appreciated him sending his team out to help us! I recently had a similar experience where I traveled to attend another entrepreneur event. I arrived early to get a feel of what was going on (trying to see if I can figure out the details to prepare myself again!) but still, that went out the window because the area was small. It was connected to a miniature shopping center with a few stores, so I was a bit perplexed. I was observing my surrounding and I’m thinking it can’t be that many people who will show up because it’s not a lot of parking spaces to fit a huge crowd. I also observed that I wasn’t seeing any people walk into the building, so I started to think it got cancelled. I started rethinking my decision as to why I even came but again, I didn’t want to waste my gas or sell myself short of seeing what and who was inside. I knew this was an event I wanted to be a part of, so I got out of my car, changed my shoes, gathered my materials and headed inside. I got inside and was pointed out to a small conference room. It was me and 2 other persons. I like small group gatherings because you get more of the instructor’s attention and you have time to ask questions and receive full, detailed feedback. I was happy that I went inside because I learned a lot more than I expected and learned a few new things that I needed to investigate. If I left because of those reasons I listed earlier, I would’ve missed valuable information, the chance to connect with the instructor, the opportunity to have access to unlimited resources through him, and he also asked for my business card!

I’m saying all of this to convey that you never know what is going to come out of a situation so go for it! Step outside of what is comfortable. The longer you stay in comfortability, the more you allow yourself to shrink. You will begin to limit yourself and close yourself in. You won’t know what it’s like to overcome a fear and how easy it is to step into it, face it, and then feel relieved, accomplished, and confident in yourself when it’s over. In doing so, the next time you will know you will be able to face it! Opportunity awaits you and it’s time to make some sacrifices to make it happen. I have really gotten my mindset trained to believe in myself, knowing that I can make it through all fears. You must be greater than any fear that crosses your mind!

Final Takeaway

Did you know that fear is controlled in the brain by the amygdala? The amygdala is almond shaped in the limbic system and is considered the seat of fear in the brain. So technically, your fear is the size of an almond! AN ALMOND! You can’t let “an almond” continue to break you away from living a life of abundance! When you feel that fear creeping up, just think, it’s only an almond and it’s not that big. Know that you are bigger than that, bigger than your fear, bigger than backing out, bigger than stepping away from what you want to do and achieve. BELIEVE BIGGER!