There is one thing that I have done throughout my life that has helped me overcome situations riddled with fear and anxiety.
This one thing has helped push me to step outside of my comfort zone and has served as the catalyst for some of the most rewarding experiences in my life.
Okay, let me cut to the chase.
You can do anything in life with 10 seconds of extreme courage.
There, that’s it, I said it. End of blog.
No, really. There is nothing you can not do if you simply channel highly concentrated, extreme courage for only 10 seconds.
Why You Only Need Ten Seconds of Extreme Courage
In both pivotal and mundane moments of life, there is a moment between a thought and a decision. A blank space, a time of dead air.
That moment is usually occupied by fear and anxiety, which greatly determine the course of your thoughts and the outcome of your actions.
What if you’re thinking about asking your boss for a raise? And in the moment between the thought and the decision to do so, you contemplate how it would feel if your boss denies your request. So you decide to not even ask.
What if you’re thinking about expressing your deepest feelings and telling someone ‘I love you’? And in the moment between the thought and the decision to do so, you fear them not feeling the same way? So, you decide to hold back your emotions.
What if you’re feeling pulled to move to a new country? And in the moment between the thought and the decision to do so, you fear the unknown. So you decide to stay in your hometown.
Ten seconds of extreme courage allows you to make the choice. It reminds you to change your default setting of fear and anxiety. It shows you how weak fear and anxiety are– to only need 10 seconds of extreme courage to overcome it.
Replacing Fear With Courage
What if, instead of letting the fear and anxiety occupy the moment between thought and decision, we replaced it with ten seconds of extreme courage?
There is no building up of courage required. There is no need to spend five days thinking about what could go wrong and trying to muster up the courage despite the fears you have. There is no need to think through all the possible consequences. There is no need to second guess yourself.
All you need to do is choose to occupy that space between thought and decision with 10 seconds of extreme courage.
This pushes you outside of your boundaries- built by comfort- and allows you a glimpse into who you would be without fear and anxiety getting in the way.
Why It’s Always Worth It
I’m not encouraging you to flippantly make decisions. I’m encouraging you to take chances.
There will always be the choice of how you fill that blank space. You can either let fear and anxiety rule you or extreme courage set you free.
The risk is worth the reward every time. The more frequently you rewire your brain to choose courage over fear, the more likely it is to happen naturally.
Courage is not something you have to build over time. Courage is the 10 second prequel to you achieving your destiny.
So, what are you waiting for? Choose 10 seconds of extreme courage over fear and anxiety.
Gone are the days when we let fear and anxiety rule us. Cheers to the days when courage takes victory and makes us better people.