7 Bold Ways to Face Your Fears This Year ...

One of the top ways to face your fears is to write them down. This always helps because you need to know exactly what, or who, you are dealing with. Once you have them written down you can take the next step into actually facing them. I did this exercise last fall and realized that I was afraid of wasting time. My biggest fear is that I'm not able to have children. I think I started to fear this as I faced 30 and most of my friends because mothers. There, I shared my fear with you ladies. Your turn!

The reason it's good to share your fears with others is that you are able to get perspective on them. It's possible that your fear is totally irrational and if you have a good friend or mentor in your life, they can check you on this. Or, your fear could be totally legitimate and if so, you will be able to talk it out with whomever you shared it with. I think sharing your fears also can attract others because it shows that you are willing to be vulnerable.

So you've named your fears and maybe even talked about them. Now you can begin to research them and see what material is out there to assist you with facing them head on. For me, I started to read about fertility and health and wellness. Books and articles can really help you because they are often written by experts or people who have faced the same fear that you have and are now on the other side of the fear. Also, when you begin to read about your fears you get to know more about them, and this can be comforting in a strange way because you'll see that it's not so scary.

This point is slightly different from sharing them. When you begin to talk about your fears with others, you will find that you start to have a certain authority over them. The more you talk about them, to friends and strangers, the more familiar you will become with them. Sometimes we just need to talk things through before getting the revelation we need. If you have a gift for gab, consider talking about your fears through blogs, vlogs, or spoken word.

Grab your favorite pen and some paper and draft a plan on how you will face your fears this year once and for all. Not only is writing therapeutic, but when you write you can connect dots that may not have been as obvious jumbled in your head. Draft an old school outline with numbers and letters on how you are going to face your fears, one at a time. Place your draft somewhere that's visible so you can have a daily reminder.

Seek out others who have faced the same fear that you have. Sometimes books aren't enough and you need a real person with emotion to connect with, right? Let them know your concerns. Maybe they will be willing to mentor you or at least point you to resources that can assist you. You are never alone in this life, even if it seems this way.

Let's do it, ladies! Let's face our fears and conquer them head on. There comes a point where you've done all the reading and talking that you can do and the only thing left to do is to face your fear. It may be the hardest thing you've ever had to do but it will also be the most rewarding. At least, that's what I've heard from others.

Before I feared infertility I feared wasting time. So I faced my fear of wasting time (and my life) and made moves throughout the year to get closer to my dreams. This year I look forward to facing my latest fear head on. I suppose there will always be more to fear in life, another layer. Or maybe we will finally arrive at a place of fearlessness? That would be awesome.