Pushing Through Fear to Find Joy on the Other Side
Sit down Gary, it's Flarp!'s turn to shine!
You've probably been there, standing in the queue for a rollercoaster you’re 99.9% sure you’re too scared to ride. Your brain fires all alarms, begging you to flee. You convince yourself you’ll hate it, that it’s not worth the risk, that the line is too long and you'd rather eat Dippin Dots (me).
But every now and then, you win the fight with fear. You stay in the line. You don’t bolt. And before you know it, you’re strapped in, click-clacking your way up that incline, heart pounding, all the anxiety swirling in your chest. Then comes the first drop and by the bottom of that hill, you feel ALIVE. That tight knot of fear bursts apart, and in its place is overwhelming joy and the feeling of freedom that reminds you why letting go was the right thing to do all along. Honestly, fear is so rude, designed to keep us safe, but gets it wrong way too dang often.
Today, my absolute favorite thing to do is dance, but that hasn't always been the case. My entire life, I craved the freedom to just go for it on a dance floor, but fear had convinced me that I could never. My fear-based brain (let's call it Gary) shouted "You're not a dancer! You don't know what you're doing! You’ll flail around like an idiot and people will stare. You’re not graceful enough or coordinated enough!” Rude, Gary! But even though I was terrified, there was a SECOND voice (let's call it Flarp!) inside that was still...curious. We love Flarp!
Eventually, the day had come and I gathered the courage to sign up for a Zumba class. And canceled. Then signed up again. Canceled again. Gary had me playing ping pong with my decisions. But one day, Flarp! yelled louder than Gary. Flarp! shouted, “Do the right thing! Do the right thing!" I fought the urge to flee. I showed up.
But lord have mercy, I booked the wrong class! I booked Zumba Gold, designed for "active older adults who are looking for a modified Zumba® class that recreates the original moves you love at a lower-intensity". Little squeeze balls in hand, gentle steps in a circle to soft beats, I was surrounded by octogenarians who were gloriously unbothered by my presence. I laughed at the absurdity, at myself, and at how my brain had made this moment out to be life-or-death when the reality was so sweet, so far from scary. Flarp! had defeated Gary and it was beautiful!
After that, I signed up for everything!! Classic Zumba, hip hop, belly dancing, breaking, line dancing, heels classes. I danced in front of strangers. I popped, twerked, whacked, sometimes tripped, messed up the moves, fell on my face, added additional Meg flair. Today, I’m still not “good” at dancing (by the traditional definition). And guess what? No one cares! All that fear about being judged from Gary? Lies. No one is judging. Everyone was too busy with their own Flarp! having a good time!
The same thing happened when I started weightlifting. Gary told me the gym was intimidating, that I didn’t belong there because no one looked like me. I envisioned people pausing their workouts just to laugh at me because I was doing it wrong. All lies again! Walking into that gym was the click-clack of the rollercoaster incline, but on the other side of fear, there was Flarp! again. Ready to show me the joy, strength, and freedom I didn’t know I’d been missing.
The truth is, Gary will always conjure up the worst-case scenario. It lives for the drama of the incline, convincing us we should run while we still can. But the ride? The ride is almost always worth it. Even if it’s messy. Even if it’s awkward. Because on the other side of fear is where joy is waiting. Flarp! is waiting with open arms.
I'm most excited to know that there's probably 100 things I've yet to discover that I love because Gary is in the dang way! Step aside Gary, I'm ready to live!
This week, focus on: letting Flarp! win
This week I want you to try and overpower your fear by showing up and following through with something you've been wanting to do, but holding yourself back from actually doing. Maybe it's an adult gymnastics class (me) or go to a roller skating rink by yourself in the middle of a weekday afternoon. Maybe it's registering for a program you've wanted to enroll in or try out that new speakeasy you've gotten in your head about finding the entrance to. This week, tell Gary to SIT DOWN, it's Flarp!'s time to shine.
🚨 If you have a friend whose inner Gary is holding them hostage, send this to them. It’s time to let Flarp! take the wheel. 🚗💨 Toot toot! Move over Gary.
What's goin’ on in Meg's mirror maze
Full Time You is my career strategy and career planning program that is going all year long. If you are looking to create a more aligned career that makes you feel more confident, you can join now and go at your own pace! Or catch up and go as the weeks are being released. If you've already taken any of my online classes (or my previous Full Time You workbook), this is the perfect time to join! We just finished all the foundational work you have already completed if you took my other programs. It's just $45/month and it's the most in-depth and actually valuable thing I've ever created!
March! of our monthly adventure club started yesterday and it's one that I've been wanting an excuse to do for...so long! I'm really excited and would love to have you join for just $5/month! It feels like a perfect extension of the focus for this week, so please join and play along! Just upgrade your subscription to paid and you’re in!
I recently got one of these bottles because it brought me joy and wonder as a kid and still brings me joy and wonder today! A reminder to fill your space with things that bring you joy over prioritizing trends. A practice I'm still implementing and it's been so freeing. I'll probably write more about this soon!
I love Flarp so this Flarp analogy was special! Gary is such a perfect name, I’m gonna start calling him that too! Your words always makes my heart smile, thank you ♥️
I keep thinking about starting a newsletter for my friends with cute drawings, sweet notes, and just fun stuff—nothing too serious. Gary thinks it's too cutesy and that people might ignore it. But Flarp! loves the idea and thinks it would really brighten everyone's day. Not sure why Gary is being such a plopper about it. Thanks for the inspo, you're so Flarp!ed up.