Deborah Redfern

I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it.

–Pablo Picasso

Imagine a scenario where a person’s dream has always been to go back to school, but she believes it is too late: she is too old to start again. Whether she goes back to school or not — in five years she’ll be the same age whether she goes back to school or doesn’t. The difference and choice is whether she wants to spend another five years of her life feeling the same frustration and sense of loss, or whether she is ready to take a risk of living her passion.

What personally motivated me into action was realizing that I don’t have forever. Whatever way you look at it, we all have a limited amount of time on earth and I did not want to look back on my life with a sense of regret, of wishing I had taken the plunge into the unknown.

Today is an opportunity to face down your fears and break out of your routine. Have you ever known someone that acted courageously in a crisis and yet afterwards said they did not know how they found the courage to do what they did? We are stronger than we think and the act of naming our fears can make us even stronger. Often what we are really afraid of is Being Afraid: The fear of being in a vulnerable and fearful state is sometimes worse that the incident itself.

Write out a list of your fears and share at least one of your fears with someone you trust. It is important that the person you choose will just listen without judging (you might even tell this person that you are not looking for advice or healing, and that you just wanted to share.)

Now choose one of your fears and imagine the worst case scenario if it happened. Come up with a plan of action if that ever happened. What would you do? How you could use these experiences to help you grow?

For example, the fear of going back to school might represent a fear of looking foolish with younger people. Your plan of action might look like this: 1. Make an appointment to speak to the head of the department faculty head to see what policies and/or support you might find there. 2. Ask about auditing a course to see how you fit in. 3. Visit Student Affairs or the Guidance office to see if there is an adult student support group or a guidance counsellor you can talk to. 4. Join the adult student group.

With a plan of action such as this, fears become a more reasonable life hurdle to overcome. It also creates a space where you can imagine getting past it and going forward to receive all that life has to offer. Take one small step toward an interest. Whether your dream is big, like going back to school, or it is a smaller goal, take a risk and sign up for the class you’ve always wanted to take – even if you aren’t sure you would be good at it. Like Picasso, you will learn – and your enthusiasm will propel you towards success.

(c) Deborah Redfern, 2008. All rights reserved.