One step at a time:)

When you procrastinate enough, the pain of actually doing what you have been procrastinating about is so much less than the angst and weight of not doing it!!

What's the deal with being afraid of driving?
I'm very curious if there is anyone else out there with this condition. If there is a named phobia for being afraid of ducks then there has to be a phobia for being afraid of driving. For me it all started at a young age after a bad go-karting experience and falling out of a car onto a busy street. Once my mom took me to a cemetary to practice driving. The sign said it was closed at 4pm. It was after 4 when we went but the gates were still open so we went in. After driving to the opposite end of the cemetary, my mom and I started thinking more and more about the closing time and began talking about getting stuck in the cemetary. I asked my mom how fast I could drive and she said "as fast as you can." We did make it out, the gates were still open, in a cloud of dust and another scary driving experience under my belt.

I never took a drivers training because it cost too much and then suddenly my not being able to drive became bigger and bigger and suddenly anytime I thought of driving I started sweating. I have always been a perfectionist and afraid of failure and being bad at anything. Being afraid of failure is the worst! Anyone afraid of failure like me has to stop. We can learn from failure. Thomas Edison learned failed to make the light bulb over and over. But, he didn't look at it like that. He looked at it like he learned several ways not to make the lightbulb.

Sometimes I wonder if I was just born in the wrong time. I did read that Google is coming out with self driving cars woohoo!!!! Unfortunately not for a few years, blast! I really don't think I would be afraid of driving if my car could go 10 mph or if a car drove itself.

But since I do not live in that time and it has gotten more and more handicapping to be afraid of driving I am driving a little each day, I have been taking it one step at a time and it's funny that a thing feared so much can bring so much joy. Now anytime I go driving I feel so good because I am doing something that for me I wanted to do but feared so much. Highways are still ridiculous, but each day I am going to try and do a little bit more.

Is there anything in your life you've been putting off? Has it become such a stress that doing it would make you feel better. Think of the pleasure it might bring you if you just do it. Think of ways you can do it one step at a time. Maybe you don't need to go on the highway yet, such a leisurely drive on small side streets. Do it c'mon!!!!


On a side note: Yay for smile therapy!!
Tony Robbins and others have suggested you change your body you can change your mood. So stand up straight, shoulders back, chin up. One day I was listening while walking and he said to smile for one minute. I was outside walking down the street looking like a total goof/crazy person, but I didn't just smile I ended up laughing becuase of how silly I knew I looked. Try it, you can't smile for one minute and be unhappy.