You hear it all the time…. you just have to follow your dreams. They make it sound so easy, but if it were easy, everyone would be doing it. Right? But have you considered what can happen to you if you stifle those feelings that you meant for something more? If you try to ignore those feelings by telling yourself it’s not the right time, you don’t have time for that, or any other excuse there is?

I never thought of myself as someone who would hold themselves back from trying new things, but I did, and there were consequences. I didn’t realize that how I chose to escape my feelings, led to me feeling bad because I was denying myself the pleasure of following my dreams, which then led me to overeat and overspend in an effort to make myself feel better. It’s a cycle that I fell into without giving it much thought, and I mindlessly overate and overspent in an effort to feel good about myself.

Humans are complicated people, and our emotions guide us strongly. But if you have a calling deep inside you that keeps telling you to try something new and follow a new path, don’t you owe it to yourself to explore it?

Personally, I had a deep seeded feeling that spoke to me for about 10 years. I wanted to start my own business, but I was so scared to step out of my comfort zone and really put myself out there. I distracted myself from these feelings from eating too much and spending too much. Yet no matter how much I ate or spent, the feeling always came back to me. I struggled with it for some time.

“Instead of worrying about what people say of you, why not spend time trying to accomplish something they will admire.” — Dale Carnegie

Then on Christmas Day 2018, my husband had a massive heart attack at the age of 46.  Thankfully he survived, but those are the kind of events that punch you in the face and wake you up. And at that point I knew I had things I wanted to change in my life, and I started working with a life coach, desperate for a way to cure the bad habits I had formed with eating and spending.

I am so grateful I found my life coach and worked with her. She helped me put myself first, get over the fear, and live my life. Within a few months of working with her I managed to finally start my own business, and I’ve never been happier.

What I learned with my coach is a lesson that applies to so many of us. I’d like to share these lessons with you.

Why you choose not to pursue our dreams:

1. You let fear hold you back – It’s a lot easier to stay where you are comfortable and not challenge yourself. But when you stay within your comfort zone you become complacent, never challenging yourself, and lose the opportunity to learn and grow.
2. Women put everyone else’s needs first – You may have kids or other family members to take care of, so if you were to do something for yourself when they need you so much right now, you’d feel too guilty.
3. You’re looking for the “right” time – If you’re waiting for the perfect time to pursue your dreams, the perfect time is now. There will never be a better time, because if you are feeling the pull towards your dreams, it means you have to give it some attention.
4. You care too much about what others will think – The idea of putting yourself out there and letting other people judge you may seem like it’s too much to bear, but have you considered that their opinions do not matter?
5. Fear of failure and fear of success – Fear of failure is a common fear, but failure just allows you try again in a different way. Failure is part of the process.

“Everything you want is on the other side of fear.” — Jack Canfield

What most don’t explore is the fear of success, which is just as real. And these are feelings worth exploring because often those feelings are attached to not feeling worthy of success.

Today I wake up every morning excited to serve my clients. I feel so much energy and love for life, gratitude, and I’ve even lost 20 pounds in the process!

I hope what you takeaway from this story is that if your gut is telling you something, it’s alerting you for a reason. There are consequences to ignoring these gut feelings. My hope for you is if you are sitting on a dream, that today is the day that you take action on it. Start with one step, that’s usually the hardest, and keep going until you find your momentum, and joy!  Life is too short to be held back.