“I’m not afraid of you.”

Originally posted Thursday, June 21, 2007


“I’m not afraid of you.”
Current mood: accomplished

These are the words I taught my daughter to say when something scared her, pretty much as soon as she was able to speak.

She would stand square, teetering just a little at the tender age of 18 months and point her tiny little finger at whatever she thought was scary, and in the biggest most authoritative voice she could make she would say “I nod fraid you!”

I wanted to teach her right away that she didn’t need rescuing. From anything. That whatever life threw at her she could stand her ground and make it through.

She also new that if it was too big to handle and she tried but couldn’t quite make it, I would be there to help her, but only if she tried on her own first.

I don’t want to pass on to her the thought that she isn’t capable. That she needs someone in her life to do certain things.

Too many times we’re told by someone that we can’t do something for any number of reasons they can think of, too many times we are shown that this is a “man’s” job or this is a “woman’s”. Yes, I believe it is easier for a man to lift heavy objects than it is a woman, but we don’t have to rely just upon our muscle.

Problem solve. Look at the situation differently. Can’t pick something up? Well then how about putting something under it to roll it, or slide it? I have almost always been able to move things somehow or another on my own if I really needed to. Even the heaviest of objects.

Spiders? My phobia... I deal.
And the more I deal the weaker fear gets. (or at least that’s what I keep telling myself....) :-p

I remember in high school I signed up for shop class instead of home economics because they were going to be teaching sewing. I already knew how to sew, at least the basics. I didn’t know how to change my oil in my car.

I talked to the shop teacher and he promised that that was one thing he would be covering, so I signed up.

We ended up taking apart and putting back together a Briggs and Straton lawn mower engine.

I was the first one to do it, and I did it correctly.

Never did learn how to change my oil in my own car.

I don’t know why I didn’t keep pressing to learn, but I stopped, and now I just pay someone else to do it, which works too I guess.

I don’t want to stop pressing forward for things I need or want to learn or do in my life.

Sometimes it seems as if I have, and the reason is because of fear.
Fear of failure, fear of being ridiculed, fear of losing what I’ve already worked hard to attain.

A situation or roadblock came up yesterday in something I’m trying to achieve, and instead of saying “Well, that’s it, I knew I didn’t have what they were looking for, I can’t do it differently” and giving in, I decided to push myself and look at it differently, try to move what needed moving a different way.

I took a chance, and today, well it paid off, I’m still moving forward, still mumbling my mantra


“I nod fraid you!”