Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway?

Over the past two weeks I have received some truly wonderful emails from a handful of you gorgeous readers. Like, really wonderful. Make me cry, hug the closest person, twinkle in my eye all week kind of wonderful.But after a few days, something weird started to happen. I suddenly realised that those emails came from people. Real people. Who read my words. Real people who are learning from my screw-ups life lessons.And it scared the shit out of me. I wanted to delete my blog. Run for the hills. Get on the first flight to a remote island in Thailand*. Forget I even had a blog.(*But that's normal here.) What if I let you down?What if I stop being funny/amusing/quirky/helpful?What if I never was any of those things in the first place?And all the kind comments, wonderful subscribers and members of this special community are really just the creation of a complex internet scam and tomorrow I wake up to find my bank accounts have been emptied by a friendly Nigerian lady named Caroline? I was afraid. (And dramatic.) But mostly afraid.Afraid to look silly. Afraid to disappoint you. Afraid to reveal too much.But I have been afraid before. Fear has seen me close a business. Fear has seen me ignore emails and opportunities and phone calls. Fear has stopped me from improving myself.So this time, Fear, I see you and I feel you, but I'm doing it anyway.I'm not going anywhere. I have a ridiculous passion for writing, for helping people, for learning more about slowing our homes, simplifying our lives. I enjoy this too much to stop, particularly for a reason as flimsy as fear.How about you?

• You may be afraid of calling that long-lost friend, because she could hold you responsible for the breakdown of your relationship.
• You may be afraid to start decluttering your home, because you could lose too much of yourself along the way.
• You may be afraid to take care of your body, because you could give up, stumble or look silly.
• You may be afraid to tell your partner that you need time to yourself, because he may not understand that it's about you and not him.

But today, I say to you, feel the fear and do it anyway.

If you weren't afraid, what would you do?