I have a t-shirt that says “Fear is nothing more than a state of mind”. I wish I was wearing it the day I decided to jump into the ocean where it was about 100 feet deep! Through several strings of group texts and all the way up to heading to our first stop at Molokini Crater, I made it clear this chick would be on the boat! My friend Kerry kept saying to me she was going to get me in the water and I was like “nope, but I’ll take pics of you guys!” Now I’ve got to give it to Kerry because she could care less about how many times I said no, she continued to invite me anyway. First stop Molokini Crater. It was stunning! Once inside the crater, you could see clear into the water. The cute schools of fish made me smile and I was so content perched on the top deck of the boat looking at the fishies and the water goers snorkel, scuba, water slide and swimming around. I took pictures and even snagged some video of the glass bottom portion of the boat! I was so happy! Still no desire to get in the water. While parked inside the crater, the water was only about 30 feet deep. It was absolutely beautiful. Kerry still with this gentle invitations that I continued to decline. As the boat cleared, a gentleman stood aside snapping pictures and says to me “you should really go in. With a noodle you’ll be fine. I’m not a strong swimmer so I went in with a noodle and I was fine. My sons are out there now, but they’re strong swimmers. There are a lot of life guards out there and with a noodle you’ll be just fine.” The whole while Kerry is like “yes, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell her!” Finally he says, “if you’re going to go, you’ve got to do it now since this is our last stop. You won’t have another opportunity after this.” I learned that I am stronger and more courageous than I give myself credit for. I can do things I’m scared of. I don’t have to do it for long periods of time or go all the way, but I can take some action and next time I’ll take even more action. One day I really will snorkel. Even for little Ms. Independent over here, I was reminded I still need someone to hold my hand sometimes. I still need a couple of cheerleaders to cheer me on as I face my fears, but I wasn’t facing them alone. So my reminder to you is, its ok to need someone to hold your hand through the hard parts. Have people around you who will support you and cheer you on as you face your fears. If you don’t have people in your life that demonstrate this level of kindness, you can start cultivating it now! So much of life is filled with opportunities not taken. Maybe out of fear, being scared or lack mentality in thinking all these pre-requisites must be met in order to just go for it. The truth is, I’ll never have that moment again, that day on that boat, with those girls, with that gentle stranger, even if we found ourselves together again on another excursion, that day is gone forever. All I have is now. That is my theme for 2022. I don’t have the past, I have yet to hold the future, all I have is right now. All you have is now too. Don’t wait until you achieve a certain weight, your hair is a certain length, your kids are out of the house, you achieve a certain status/hit a certain goal. All you have is now, your life is now. What fear are you ready to conquer? What baby steps are you willing to take today? Whether you jump in the 30 or 100 feet, whether you just get in or actually snorkel, when you look fear in the face and do it anyway, you still win! You can encourage over your fear! Because together we can Encourage Over Everything! Tag me on Instagram (@encourageovereverything) with your favorite quote and don’t forget to rate and subscribe! Thanks for listening! ENCOURAGE OVER EVERYTHING FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1489875841203235/ ENCOURAGE OVER EVERYTHING INSTAGRAM: https://Instagram.com/encourageovereverything/ SHOW NOTES: https://chpc.encourageovereverything.com/blog/feargateway

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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