"Face your fears" This phrase always ring a bell in my head whenever I feel overwhelmed.
Some years back, I recall my fashion boss saying these words to me, "Amie, you have great potential in you but you're too scared to unleash it, face your fears, your greatness lies in your mindset."
She said those words to me when she noticed I always hold back from doing things that scare me, I ended up procrastinating and eventually find shortcuts๐น. Back then when I started learning how to sew, I shy away from tough styles that are quite complicated, not because I couldn't make them, but because I feared failure, I feared I might need up destroying the outfit, and I feared making mistakes.
My boss shaped my mindset when I started learning to sew, she will purposely give me tough styles to cut and sew, I remember how I called in sick because she had told me the previous day to cut a style that seem complicated, I listened how she laughed at me over the phone and then her response, "okay sorry about how you feel, but whenever you feel okay, you are the one to cut the cloth." Where do I run to? you and I know I can't call in sick forever๐น๐น๐น.
Gradually I started to learn to face my fears, when I wanted to start my blog journey here on the hive, I procrastinated a lot because of this same fear, I felt, I wasn't professional enough to be here. Then I recall the phrases, especially the "Face your fears" part. The worst that may happen is I fail or win, and even if I fail, I at least took a shot at it and will be best prepared to face the next phase. Then I became bold enough to make my introductory post.
Another circumstance this phrase rang a bell was the time I wanted to go for an interview for a job I've never done before, it was for the post of a social media handler, as easy as it may seem, I only play around my Facebook and Instagram space for fun not to get paid, but this time I wanted to manage so many social spaces for a very popular firm, I was courageous enough to apply for the job, when I was called for the interview, ha! I became scared.
Why? You may ask? I knew I wasn't a professional in the field, I knew I was going to meet so many qualified candidates so I became afraid. I was worried about the outcome before even trying, I was worried about the questions I might be asked. I was worried if my personal Instagram account was enticing enough.
Would you believe I almost didn't attend the interview? I started looking for flimsy excuses, like the place is far, I don't have a nice outfit to rock to the venue, and shits, they were all lies to myself, I had transport, I had nice clothes to wear but fear wouldn't let me be great!
Immediately, I sat down for a few minutes right in front of the mirror, I looked at myself and how great I would be if I ever have the guts to try something new no matter how challenging it may seem. I recalled those words my boss said to me, then I told myself "Amie, you got this, how will you know if you are the most preferred candidate if you didn't even try? Face your fears, baby!
So I made up my mind to go for the interview. The outcome wowed me, firstly, HR was amazed at my confidence, ...
Did I tell you I rehearsed a few times before the mirror with my uncle?๐น๐น He acted like the HR and asked me questions he felt might be related to the field. He was like "Look them in the eyes, wear a smile, and be confident".
I did just that, I looked the HR in the eyes with confidence as I replied to each question he threw at me, when he asked if I'd worked as a social media handler before I brought out my phone and showed him my space on instagram๐น๐น.
He was like," I love the fact that you're so confident, you have a great mindset and we would love to groom you and work with you".
Finally, another instance was even after I owned my shop, I almost rejected an outfit (a very complicated outfit) that open other doors for me because of fear.
But then I recalled, "Face your fears" and decided to make the outfit for that client. I am glad I was able to conquer my fears and yes, my client was satisfied with the outcome and she even referred more clients to me.
(image is mine, they are my clients rocking the outfits I made) Now I can make any style no matter how complicated it might look without running away. "Face your fears" is a phrase stuck in my head like a melody, I have been able to attain great things by just holding on to this phrase. Today, I am glad I chose to be on hive even if I had little or no Professional writing skills, the more I write, the more I get better. How would I be sharing this story with you if I hadn't faced my fears? ๐๐๐