judi in the pink
DO IT SCARED
This is me, at 63, learning how to swim. I decided last year at 62 I wanted to be not afraid of the water. I love the beach. But didn’t know how to swim. I suppose I could blame my parents for not throwing me in the water as a kid when fear was not even a thought, But that would be fruitless and dumb. When one of my work colleagues mentioned her children were taking swimming lessons, I decided to take the plunge (pun intended).
Learning how to swim is akin to taking a long, very very long, flight to South Africa, They both require doing it scared, WHICH IS THE REAL DEFINITION OF COURAGE. I did the latter in the fall of 2022. The amount of positive self talk that went into that trip was monumental for me, because I knew going in the flight was 17 hours!!! there and back from New York. While there were moments on the plane that I felt suffocated, I continued the self talk as I laid back in my business seat. I continually watched the faces of the stewards. If they were happy and calm, then so was I. When we finally landed in South Africa, I exhaled, but I felt accomplished! I did it.
This book, besides the bible, is saving my life.
Lucinda helped me fly from NY to California, a five hour flight, there and back.
Children don’t see fear or feel it when it comes to doing something new. They embrace it. However, once we get older and see how life can be intimidating, frustrating and scary, all those thoughts crowd our brains and lead us to thinking ‘ if I get in this pool, I may DROWN!!!!’ But I am continually kicking fear in the face. I am NOT saying that when I get in the pool with the coach, I am not anxious. I am learning to say to my subconscious mind that anxiety does not belong to me. When I am not with the coach, I continue to practice. This keeps me comfortable and familiar with the water, further leaving anxiety and fear in the deep end.
There are plenty of videos, books podcasts on the perils of fear, anxiety and how to overcome them both. For me, in order to get on that flight I reread portions of FROM PANIC TO POWER by Lucinda Bassett. I read it initially when I wanted to fly to California from New York. For swimming I read “WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU TALK TO YOURSELF by Shad Helmstetter. In order to keep the talk going daily, I gave a name to my subconscious mind, Delia-named after my great grandmother, whom I loved crazily.
Upon getting out of bed, ‘Delia, let’s get up and kick this day in the head.’
When craving that next oreo, “Delia, we are full and satisfied. No more carbs to bother the hips today.”
When driving home from work after a long day and the traffic is chaotic and there are at least 45 minutes left,
“Delia, we are not fatigued. We are concentrating on the road and not gonna get mad at the next person who cuts us off.’
I named my subconscious mind, because it is with me daily. I compared it to a favorite pet. I own a Maine Coon, Hannah. 
My sweet girl, Hannah.
If I fed Hannah garbage everyday and not love her, she would eventually die after costing me thousands in vet bills. But if I love her, hug her and give her good food and water, she would love me back, unconditionally, thrive, and continue to run around the apartment, moving my shoes from one part of the stairs to the floor. The same holds true for my subconcious mind. Speak good and kind to it, and your steps and actions will follow.
Besides the examples Dr Helmstetter sets in the book, Delia and I speak 2Timothy 1:7: For God has not given us the spirit of FEAR, but of power, love and a sound mind. The devil continues to lurk, helping us believe we are powerless. But God’s word is our wonder woman bracelets, fighting the enemy and shoring up GOD.
THERE IS BEAUTY IN THE MIRROR
As part of this self talk, and this do it scared mentality, one must FIRST see oneself as worthy of the praise. Tasha Cobbs Leonard said in her recent book ‘Do It Anyway, ‘ I curse the spirit of rejection and receive the spirit of adoption.’ In other words, every single day, she spoke to herself or her subconscious mind, and in her words, ‘As time went on, I felt myself coming more alive.’
Tasha made a vow to speak positively daily.
TAKE ACTION
It takes determination and intention to choose to do what you fear. I feared getting on that long flight to South Africa, but I grew tired of dreaming about the lions and giraffes. I wanted to see them in person. Once I saw a giraffe eating from a tree and a lion laid out, stretched out in his environment like my cat Hannah, my life was changed. I grew tired of wishing I could swim and be comfortable in the water. At first I was embarrassed, learning how to swim in my 60s, amongst children who were dipping in the pool like fish. But I got over it. And now, I can dip, float backwards, kick, kick, and most importantly, put my head in the water!!!!! I have some more technique to learn, but Delia and I will get there. In this season of TAKING ACTION, I also joined TOASTMASTERS. I grew tired of being scared to talk in public. TOASMASTERS helps one talk while jittering, be conscious of the annoying, connecting words, like ‘aum’, ‘so,’ and ‘like.’ So far, Ive done three speeches and spoke ON STAGE at my church in July!!!!!!
If you can see it, you can DO IT.
interesting story
I struggle with fear daily. Seeing the slogan on your smartly designed shirts, “face the fear”, has made me look at things differently. I try to go into uncomfortable situations head on and not shy from them. There is something empowering about knowing you have faced something you are scared of!
Reading this was so encouraging. I now have a new definition of courage … do it even if you’re scared because the fear will never leave unless you do it. That’s what I got from this. Swimming lessons here I come!