7 Fears I Conquered in the Last Two Years
Fear has always been the hardest emotion for me to grapple with.
Throughout my life, fear has taken many forms — anxiety disorders, OCD, and severe levels of stress. Nonetheless, my conditions have given me the opportunity to learn about fear and how to deal with it in various therapy settings. And these experiences have inspired me to conquer many more fears than the ones I initially set out to challenge.
Here are seven of those fears that I overcame in 2023 and 2024.
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RELATED ARTICLE: How I Overcame My Fear of Public Speaking (and Many Other Fears)
January, 2023: Needles
It used to take me half an hour to take a vaccine or blood test.
When I was given a prescription for an acne treatment that required me to take monthly blood tests, I decided that enough was enough. So I sat on the chair each time with a smile on my face and held out my arm to the needle. In less than a minute, it was done.
And the procedure hurt less than it had before.
May, 2023: Working Out in Public
I used to work out only in the privacy of my home.
No one could see me exercise then and potentially judge my performance. But when I finally decided to give in to my long-held dream of running (and when, in August of 2024, I got a job that literally required me to work out in front of a group of people), I decided to simply jump into it and see where it took me. And before I could regret it, I was running in public and loving it.
Still, there is no exercise that delights me more than running outdoors.
June, 2023: Managing the Counter at Work
I dreaded going to work because of one task: standing behind the counter.
Managing customer orders and transactions at a café or in a store was like a nightmare to me (all those buttons to press in the right order and the line that continued to grow!), so I avoided it. Until I got a job where that very task practically became a non-negotiable. I realized it was futile to hide from the checkout aisle forever, so I went behind the counter and did the tasks slowly and acted as if I had fun scanning wares and tapping buttons and managing an ever-increasing line of people.
And then I actually did have fun, and it became my favorite task at work.
July, 2023: Starting A Blog
Starting a blog is a huge commitment.
Not just because you have to write a lot of content within only a little time, but also because you have to write for an audience that may or may not like your content. At first, I was intimidated by the sheer number of articles I’d have to write (alongside university, work, and several other projects on the side). Eventually, though, I decided that I didn’t want to deny myself the joy of writing articles for an audience, even when it came with an unideal time limit.
And though I occasionally adjust that time frame around the other commitments I take on in life, I do not regret starting this blog.
October, 2023: Confessing to My Crush
I had an unspoken crush on someone for months.
I kept waiting for the right time to tell them, or for them to tell me. But then I became tired of waiting — of not knowing — so I decided that whatever the outcome would be, I would rather have it over and done with than to keep on waiting. I wrote them a confession, and I never heard from them.
And I was right: their silence was much easier to handle than my own.
November, 2023: Being Alone
It didn’t take long for me to realize that it was rather nice to be alone.
Which was strange, because I had been so afraid of loneliness just a few weeks before. But freeing myself from all the What ifs that surrounded my crush made me appreciate the things that were there and true. Because when you like your own company, and you have good friends around you, you don’t feel such a strong need to have a partner too.
Not when such a relationship wouldn’t be right, since you’d rather be alone.
July, 2024: Traveling By Myself
I was 21 when I took my first flight alone.
Airports always confused and intimidated me (they’re quite busy and chaotic to me), and, therefore, I never traveled by plane on my own. But unless I wanted to cut my family’s vacation short and force someone to escort me home, I had to fly back to Norway by myself. Luckily, after several wrong turns and an unhappy phone call, I managed to make my way through the different checkpoints and board the plane successfully.
Admittedly, I do remain scared of flying.
But when the next opportunity comes, I shall conquer that fear too.
