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Do The Thing Which You Think You Cannot Do

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

About a month ago I visited St. Louis for a work trip…now, mind you, in order to get to St. Louis from Michigan, you have to cross the Mississippi River via a very large bridge. So, you can imagine the first thought that ran through my head when my boss asked me to go – “there is no way I’m driving over that bridge…can I take someone with me?” Since it was such a last minute and short trip, I was able to bring someone with me, and my good friend Bob accompanied me. And he had no problem driving over the bridge. Good, great. I only had one minor panic attack going over…

Today’s post is all about finding the courage, strength and inspiration to face your fears. Bridges are one of mine. And as easy as it could have been to let Bob drive over the bridge on the way home, some little voice inside me told me otherwise. “Just do it.” For over 10 years, I’ve been terrified of driving over bridges, and I’ve never driven over large bodies of water such as the Mississippi. I’ve crossed them with others in the drivers seat, but never me. I’m not sure what was going through my mind the day we were leaving, but I gave into that little voice…I decided I was going to drive over the Mississippi. Thankfully, once I said it Bob wouldn’t let me take it back, but now, I’m very glad I did it. To some it may have seemed like a small step, but for me it was huge. Yes, it’s no Mackinac (still have to conquer that one as the driver), but it was something, and it symbolized so much more. With this experience I was digging deep, facing a fear and trusting in my strength and God’s to do this.

And I encourage you to do the same. What is the one thing that you fear? Maybe it’s big. Maybe it’s small. Maybe it’s something you said you could NEVER do. Whatever it is…remember this…”You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.” Stare fear down. Get out there and just do it!

And for those who want proof…here’s the video. My favorite comment “are we half way over yet?” Enjoy. And yes, we did have to stop once I got over – my hands were shaking like leaves…but I did it.

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