I used to be scared of cooking, and well, mostly just messing up cooking. I’ve definitely done it plenty of times. It’s one area of life that I’ve really pushed through fear (out of necessity) to find a place of enjoyment. That’s the analogy for today: we’re talking about food, but it’s more than that. What are you afraid of doing? Ask yourself: “What’s the WORST that could happen?” Then go there. Try it. Take it to the end and work it through for yourself. It’s not always pleasant (thinking of the worst things) but it’s usually not as bad as you think. And it’s that unknown-worry about the thing that hasn’t happened (and probably won’t) that keeps us from moving forward and trying something new, taking a risk, learning or challenging ourselves.

For example:

(let’s start small) I want to get better at cooking, so I’m going to buy a subscription to an online cooking school, do daily classes and buy some new cooking gear.

What’s the worst that could happen?

You find out that you’re not a very good cook, your friends hate your food, you spent hundreds of dollars on new equipment and you’re out all of the time you spent cooking. Ugh. (Thanks for that, Seth…)

But, is that REALLY what’s going to happen?

Probably not. We just like to worry about the worst and get caught in the failure of inaction. You may find out you’re not a good cook, but you weren’t anyway, that’s why you’re taking the classes, right? So … keep going. It doesn’t happen overnight. I bet you made more progress just trying than you realized! OR … be ok with failure and try something else. Make the 2 things you’re good at and enjoy other people’s food. Your friends hate your food and never talk to you again. Then get new friends, if they’re that superficial you didn’t want them as friends anyway. Sorry. Truly, your friends are going to support and encourage you to go for your dreams and passions. You spent money on new equipment. Yep, it takes investment to get a return and try something new. Keep trying? Sell them on eBay? Donate them to an aspiring culinary student? Hang onto them and have friends cook for you? 🙂 There are so many options and none are really that bad. Plus, most of them are just fears that simply are not true.

 

Try it out.

This is a good practice to try if you’re sitting in fear of trying something. Fear is probably lying to you and making you believe that your worst assumptions will come true and you’ll be destroyed trying. I have to be honest, failure doesn’t feel  good. You’ll probably be humbled and have to be vulnerable through the process of learning something new. You may even lose your cool once in a while as the tough times come. That’s when small steps of obedience and persistence come into play. If you can be ok with the worst outcome and know that things will still be generally alright, well, go for it.

Don’t let FEAR lie to you. It’s almost always better than you expect and the challenges always teach us something. It’s worth it! Go for it. Let me know in the comments how I can be encouraging you.