I have finally learned the meaning of the statement ‘Do the thing you think you cannot do’. This statement is printed on a magnet that resided on our fridge for more than ten years. I would pass by and catch a glimpse of this powerful statement as I reached for eggs for breakfast, or got a glass of milk in the evening.  The statement always resonated with me, as I’m by nature a scaredy cat who tests very high for risk aversion.  Fear is a normal part of my life.

However, even after 10 years mulling over this statement, I never really got it. Until now that is. You see, I always thought the statement was about the ‘thing’ – you focus on the thing you are afraid of and force your way through to the outcome.  Recent events here at work have shown me a rather different, and much more comforting and workable viewpoint.

A recent re-organization meant I changed my job here at Kudzu, and it changed drastically. I was scared witless, thinking I did not have the skills or aptitude to manage the work required of me.  I was very much outside my comfort zone, forced there by circumstances not of my own making. That’s a scary place to be and I’ll admit I shed some tears over my imagined ineptitude.  Over the last several months I have had to face my fear and walk with it every day. I could not barrel through to the ‘thing’ on the other side, because there was no ‘thing’, there was just ‘do’.  DO the thing you think you cannot do.

And I did, every day, even when I felt like quitting – literally quitting. Thanks to my awesome coworkers who stepped forward without my asking to teach and support me through this transition, I am no longer walking on quicksand.  I can’t thank them enough for the confidence their support instilled in me – I suppose they saw something in me that I was not able to see in myself.  I am ever grateful to them for now I too see I can be successful in my new position.  Plus, hey, this is a really rocking place to work.

The lesson of all this is that facing fear is not a one time thing – it’s a process, a doing, that repeats over and over at different levels as we grow and change. Next time I face a change, I’ll still be scared, and I’ll probably still cry – but I understand now that I can take it and it WILL make me a better person as long as I trust in the process.

By the way, that magnet migrated to the bathroom mirror when we bought our new fridge two weeks ago. It now reside with my other favorite magnet– “Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could….”, but that’s another blog post, isn’t it?