Do you ever find yourself overthinking about what your life is going to look like in the next five years? Do you fear not achieving the life you have envisioned for yourself? Does that fear prevent you from achieving your short-term and long-term goals? If this resonates with you, I invite you to read this article, as I struggle with similar challenges.
As an 11-year-old, I ran away from my solo singing competitions at church, frozen in fear. If I ever managed to compete in those competitions and win, it would’ve been largely due to my mother’s encouragement. She would tell me, “Give yourself a chance,” not to prove to anyone else, but for my own sake. I placed second that day and have been thriving in my singing journey ever since I stopped allowing fear to inhibit my potential. I’ve been singing ever since and singing has become my way to release my worries/fears about other factors that I can’t control. I find myself singing in everything that I do, especially when I start to feel overwhelmed.
However, fear still creeps into other areas of my life. Each day that I get closer to my med school application date brings me closer to the possibility of either success or failure. I admit I fear not getting in, especially given the daunting acceptance rates that intimidate so many. But what if I set aside fear for a quick minute, and focus on what I can actively do to be one step closer to my goal? Every achiever was once a beginner; I remind myself of this daily whenever fear gets the best of me. My most weighed and selfish fear is the fear of not being good enough. The fear of looking regular compared to other applicants. But, then I also think regular is viewed differently in everyone’s eyes. My definition of regular is getting a shaken oat milk espresso instead of an apple crisp oat milk espresso.Â
I’ve talked about fear paving a path for destroying my bigger aspirations, but reading about how my instilled fear killed even the smaller activities in my life will leave you surprised. I used to allow the fear of working out at gyms consume me and let go at the cost of good physical and mental well-being. I used to find the gym as overwhelming as it could get due to not knowing what to technically do and how to use equipment properly for effective results as well. I used to let it slide as each day passed but then my friend and I decided to seek out a supportive community and joined UTD CHAARG, a wellness club with over 100 chapters all across the United States. This club gave me everything and beyond when it came to setting my fears to bettering myself aside and taught me how to overcome my fear at the gym by training together in smaller groups. Fear truly is a formidable force-it can hold you back if you let it.
The fear of sleeping too much and mistaking it for wasted time. The fear of not doing enough at “the ripe age of 21,” about not having the glamorous life portrayed on social media, and about missing out while juggling the MCAT, med school applications, and other commitments. We will always have a lot to worry about, so why not try to set our fears aside and let our capabilities guide us toward new horizons? Why not give ourselves a well-deserved chance to freely explore our missing potential and allow it to anchor our journey? It will be as relieving it could ever get. Let’s embark on this journey together, one day at a time.