The Oh so Scary Something

There is a saying that goes, "Horses are only afraid of two things: (1) Things that move and (2) things that don't." This saying is sadly all too true. This week while riding at the arena one of our horses had a large freak out because she was afraid of a piece of farm equipment parked outside the arena. The piece of equipment was not making any noise or even moving, yet it was very, very, very scary to this horse. This fear kept her from performing her best and made the ride a struggle.

What fears do we have that hold us back? What fears do we have that keep us from reaching our full potential? Some people are afraid of heights. This fear can keep them from experiencing amazing views from a hot air balloon or experiencing a large adrenaline rush from rock climbing. Some people are afraid of spiders and that can keep them from enjoying the outdoors and all the beauty it has to offer.

Later in the ride this same horse spooked at something she couldn't even see. The wind was blowing and the compost pile near the arena had a few tree branches on it and she thought something behind them was scary. Nothing was there however, convincing her of that was a challenge. We all have fears that we can't see. Things like failure, rejection, speaking in public or talking to people. If we let those fears control us we can miss out on amazing opportunities and successes.

Everyone has fears both seen and unseen. It is how we deal with those fears that decides who we will be. If we let our fears get the best of us, like the horse did, we will have a "bad ride" and not reach our full potential.

The horse I was riding was scared of the same things. The difference was his reaction. When he saw something scary and I walked him up to investigate it, he faced the scary thing head on. By looking at his fear he was able to overcome it and we had a nice ride.

We need to be more like my horse. It is impossible to avoid all our fears if we want to have a fulfilling life. Overcoming scary things is part of growing up and growing stronger. We need to face our fears head on and view them objectively. Then we may realize that the scary thing is no more than a simple piece of farm equipment. When we can overcome our fears we can reach new heights and rise to a potential we never knew was possible.