I don’t consider myself particularly brave. Even if I do something outside my comfort zone, I do it in the most measured, non-terrifying way possible. Like this blog – I don’t have my real name or picture associated with it. That’s too big of a risk for right now.

I’m feeling particularly terrified at the moment and am trying to analyze what about this specific scenario has me so worked up. It’s a professional thing where I’m not 100% certain I’m in the right, but I’m about 80% sure. And the consequences to being wrong are more about embarrassment than anything actually problematic. And still, I’m fighting hard with the part of me that wants to bury my head in the sand and ignore it because it’s hard.

That instinct is tough to overcome. I’m reminding myself that the definition of courage is not the absence of fear, but recognizing the fear and doing the thing anyway. That’s where I am today.

For whatever reason, this particular thing has me feeling scared, intimidated, anxious, inadequate and all the terrible things my inner voice calls me sometimes. And that inner voice is screaming that I can’t do this. My head knows I can though.

So I am talking myself through it. I’m thinking about the worst possible outcomes and what that would look like. How that would impact my future. How I would deal with the fallout. What am I going to do in the future to avoid this situation? I find that helps. For me, running through the possible scenarios and how I would deal with that outcome helps me keep the fear from getting too big. This is not a life or death situation. It doesn’t even impact my personal health or well-being. Just because I haven’t done this in awhile doesn’t mean I can’t do it or that I’m less capable than anyone else.

Talking ourselves out of the anxiety spiral is real tough. Talking myself through it and envisioning all the possible ways I can deal with the worst potential outcomes helps me find a way to start tackling the situation.

It is hard to find courage in the midst of self-doubt and imposter syndrome. It’s still in there though. Walk through the various outcomes and figure out what it is that has you so intimidated and then focus on minimizing that part. The courage is convincing yourself to start tackling the problem. Once you’ve tapped into that, momentum can carry you the rest of the way.

It is not the absence of fear. It is the bravery to act anyway.