Following Your Fears Isn’t Easy, but it’s The Path to an Extraordinary Life

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

— NELSON MANDELA

Prison taught me the value of time, how precious, how short, how once it’s gone, it’s gone forever. I think about what was behind my actions and choices. What was the root cause of losing precious time?

Fear.

Fear is a door that appears on the path when a choice must be made. No house, no walls, no supporting features. Just a door in the middle of nowhere. It reminds me of an abstract Dali painting. Sometimes I imagine a melting clock and tortured souls off in the distance.

I can’t see what’s on the other side of the door. It opens to a new and unknown world. And that’s what scares me. My imagination tells me what’s on the other side and it’s never anything good. Fear tells me everything I don’t want is waiting for me on the other side. There is guaranteed pain and suffering if I cross the threshold.

The door is so easy to avoid. Why would I possibly walk through it? My life will be fine if I avoid the door. Nothing would change.