Face The Fear

As you're reading this I'll already be in Sydney attending the Priceline Beauty Prescription Live event. This week is full of Sydney adventures for me, because I'm also heading along to the 9 To Thrive event on the Friday and possibly the Saturday as well. The thing these events all have in common, aside from me knowing they're going to be heaps of fun, is I'm heading to them all alone (note: just found out someone I know will be attending the Priceline event, though I did say yes thinking I may have been going alone, but moving on). But that's what I wanted to quickly chat about today; not being afraid to do things alone.

Now I feel like I'm in a funny situation sometimes. I grew up as an only child, so doing things alone and not always having someone, at least someone close to my age, by my side, is something I've always dealt with. So when it comes to general living day to day, being alone doesn't bother me, in fact I think I probably enjoy it more than the average person. However, when it comes to things like events, the idea of going and being alone, no matter how much time I spend with myself in day-to-day life, scares the crap out of me sometimes. Maybe it's coupled with the fact that going to an event usually means I'm going to a place I don't know to be surrounded by people I don't know and who have no clue who I really am. 

I'm often invited to events in Sydney, which is two/three hours away from me, so often I don't go because the events themselves tend to only go for an hour or so meaning I'd spend more time in transport than at the event. But sometimes I wonder, if I did actually live in Sydney and therefore much closer and much more able to go to these events, would I go, or would the anxiety over the unknown still take over and stop me?

Even though I went to this Priceline event last year and therefore know exactly what to expect, and now know I'll have a friend around as well, I'm still somewhat nervous thinking about it. My mind thinks about how there will be so many other bloggers and influencers there and they'll all look and be so much better than me, even though normally most people are super lovely. I think about how I'll need to talk to brand reps all day about myself and make small chit chat (which I really suck at and need to work on) and how I'll suck and it'll be exhausting, though probably 99% of the conversations I had last year were actually great and positive.

What it comes down to is confidence, and as they say, sometimes you have to fake it till you make it; in this case faking you have self confidence until you have pretty much completely fooled yourself and it naturally comes. With anxiety, I find if something makes you anxious, the best way to deal with it is to do the thing that makes you anxious over and over again until it doesn't any longer. A bit of a 'throw yourself in the deep end' strategy, but I've found it works.

I don't go to events often, mainly because I am so far away from them all, so the anxious fear still gets me in it's grips, but I've found it easier to wrangle my way out of it and force myself along these days.

The main message I wanted to give to you all from this is; don't be afraid to do things, and especially don't be afraid to do them alone. Conquering a fear is an amazing feeling, and it feels even better when you manage to conquer it all by yourself. So for the rest of this year challenge yourself, if this is something you struggle with, do more things on your own, especially those things which scare you (provided they don't cause you harm of course), and let yourself feel liberated, in control and fierce!

As you're reading this I'll already be in Sydney attending the Priceline Beauty Prescription Live event. This week is full of Sydney adventures for me, because I'm also heading along to the 9 To Thrive event on the Friday and possibly the Saturday as well. The thing these events all have in common, aside from me knowing they're going to be heaps of fun, is I'm heading to them all alone (note: just found out someone I know will be attending the Priceline event, though I did say yes thinking I may have been going alone, but moving on). But that's what I wanted to quickly chat about today; not being afraid to do things alone.

Now I feel like I'm in a funny situation sometimes. I grew up as an only child, so doing things alone and not always having someone, at least someone close to my age, by my side, is something I've always dealt with. So when it comes to general living day to day, being alone doesn't bother me, in fact I think I probably enjoy it more than the average person. However, when it comes to things like events, the idea of going and being alone, no matter how much time I spend with myself in day-to-day life, scares the crap out of me sometimes. Maybe it's coupled with the fact that going to an event usually means I'm going to a place I don't know to be surrounded by people I don't know and who have no clue who I really am. 

I'm often invited to events in Sydney, which is two/three hours away from me, so often I don't go because the events themselves tend to only go for an hour or so meaning I'd spend more time in transport than at the event. But sometimes I wonder, if I did actually live in Sydney and therefore much closer and much more able to go to these events, would I go, or would the anxiety over the unknown still take over and stop me?

Even though I went to this Priceline event last year and therefore know exactly what to expect, and now know I'll have a friend around as well, I'm still somewhat nervous thinking about it. My mind thinks about how there will be so many other bloggers and influencers there and they'll all look and be so much better than me, even though normally most people are super lovely. I think about how I'll need to talk to brand reps all day about myself and make small chit chat (which I really suck at and need to work on) and how I'll suck and it'll be exhausting, though probably 99% of the conversations I had last year were actually great and positive.

What it comes down to is confidence, and as they say, sometimes you have to fake it till you make it; in this case faking you have self confidence until you have pretty much completely fooled yourself and it naturally comes. With anxiety, I find if something makes you anxious, the best way to deal with it is to do the thing that makes you anxious over and over again until it doesn't any longer. A bit of a 'throw yourself in the deep end' strategy, but I've found it works.

I don't go to events often, mainly because I am so far away from them all, so the anxious fear still gets me in it's grips, but I've found it easier to wrangle my way out of it and force myself along these days.

The main message I wanted to give to you all from this is; don't be afraid to do things, and especially don't be afraid to do them alone. Conquering a fear is an amazing feeling, and it feels even better when you manage to conquer it all by yourself. So for the rest of this year challenge yourself, if this is something you struggle with, do more things on your own, especially those things which scare you (provided they don't cause you harm of course), and let yourself feel liberated, in control and fierce!

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posted by The Noise in Wonderland . 8/9/17 .