BE EPIC

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One of my goals for this year is to accept more opportunities and defy my inhibitions. I confess my greatest weakness is defying fear. Inhibitions have dictated a lot of decisions in life. My fear of the unknown is crippling 99.9% of the time.

I have been this way as long as I can remember. I enjoy playing it safe, following the rules, feeling righteous in my pious behaviors (insert gagging face here), I've been a square from day one- I even declare it in the name of this blog! To an extent I am ready to round out those edges a bit. I'm starting to realize how much I have missed by not taking leaps of faith, and I am sure there are plenty of things I don't realize I have missed too! I don't want to become a reckless adrenaline junky or anything, I just want to have more faith (another goal of mine!) and step out on the ledge a little more everyday. I am tired of not knowing what I am missing.

About a year ago Nate sent me the picture above, I saved it as the background on my phone for months. 'Do Epic Shit'. Simple and slightly crass but it held something in its words that excited my soul and freaked me out at the same time.

When was the last time I did something epic? Took a leap of faith? Put my heart and soul in something? Accepted an opportunity/challenge with no idea of the outcome and just embraced it?

To give myself some credit I did start a new career path, started yoga, and took this blog in a very different direction than I ever thought I would (I certainly never thought I would be posting photos with profanity in it, and then expounding on it) But I can also think of several occasions where my gut said go and my brain said absolutely not. And I wish I had done what my initial intent was. We can't change the past but we can go forth and be awesome.

So this week I challenge you to think about your inhibitions. What stops you in your tracks? What can you do in the future to be willing to say yes without hesitation? How would you feel if you simply said yes? What can you do today to break those barriers? Any small step moves you forward.

To combat my natural tendency to take flight in the face of the unknown I have been meditating on accepting myself, and being grounded in who I know myself to be. Knowing that I have a support system of people I love who will be there for me. Knowing that I am strong and can pick myself up if I fall. Knowing that everything happens for a reason and that our lives are kind of a choose-it-yourself adventure, so why not be daring? What am I really doing by staying in my little bubble? Besides missing growth and change? Tearing apart the feeling of fear diminishes it. It is just like a wall- you keep taking the bricks away and before you know it you're left with an open path of possibility.

So go forth, be epic, be amazing, be fearless, and above all be you. It is a daily lesson of self searching but the only time is now- start living as if you're alive. ♥