Leaving Phoenix For Portugal Was SCARY

Lunch by the water 2 blocks from our apartment

Sometimes you have to scare yourself silly. You have to put yourself in situations where you feel fear, trepidation and anxiety.

I know this because for 2 months this summer I was waking up at 3:00 am in the morning with a giant knot of fear in my stomach about the big change my husband and I were about to create in our lives.

It was a horrible feeling; similar to when I was an actress standing backstage on opening night, questioning why I’d put myself in such a terrifying position. I had to go on with the show, but what was I thinking?

What were we thinking??? Well, it was time to shake things up. My husband and I decided to take a big leap and spend a year overseas in Portugal. We knew only two people there but we fell in love with this beautiful and friendly country when we were there on vacation.

Making this move required that we rent our house furnished while we were gone. This is not for everyone. It meant that all our personal items had to be removed.

I had to go through everything we own and ask, is this something to store, throw away, give away or bring with me?

Talk about the stress of making decisions! I made hundreds of them, and then second-guessed myself so I had to decide all over again!

Making decisions is frightening: what if I make the wrong one? What if I give away something I’ll need or want later?

At 3:00 am I’d go through these things in my mind, should I bring this or that? Will everything fit in my suitcase?

More importantly I was afraid of being away from my family and friends and what if I lost contact with my coaching clients by making this big move?

Up until the day before we left I was afraid of this change. Yes I was excited too, but really, unlike my husband, I wasn’t sure I’d make this change without regret.

However, now we’ve been in our new home in Estoril, Portugal for two weeks and my fear is gone. I sleep through the night!

I survived and I’m ready to live our new life here and have new adventures.

I share this with you as an encouragement to help you face whatever fear you are living with right now.

All fear is basically the same; you can’t compare the worthiness of one fear against another. Fear is fear.

But fear is a great teacher, especially in our relationships. Pushing through our fear always makes us better people.

On the other side of fear is not only relief but the realization you survived. You’re in a new place and you’ve grown.

There will always be something to fear, it’s the human condition. But we’re stronger, more resilient and braver than we think.

Without being challenged by fear we would never know our greatness.
 
It’s time to be great!