"F-E-A-R has two meanings: Forget Everything And Run or Face Everything And Rise, the choice is yours."

Another piece of gold my eyes saw while wasting time on Instagram.

To me, these two very different definitions of what FEAR stands for represent two very different ways to live life. You can sit on the sidelines, or dominate on the field. The beauty of this is it’s entirely up to you. No one is in control of how you live your life except for you. The choice is in fact simply, yours.

We encounter things on a daily basis that scare us. Sometimes it’s all in our heads but nonetheless these things affect us. Fear can be debilitating. But we need to start conquering our fears before they start conquering us. When we decide to forget everything and run, we’re avoiding important lessons that need to be learned. Life isn’t supposed to be a walk in the park. Life is full of trials and tribulations that test us to our core. Working hard to get through something difficult can be extremely rewarding. It builds character and makes you stronger and wiser.

When I was a little girl I quit nearly every sport I tried because of fear. I was scared I would be horrible, get yelled at by the coach and embarrass myself. Eventually, my parents pushed me to try volleyball. A last-ditch effort. They felt it was important that I did something that would benefit me physically and socially. Reluctantly, I did. Fast-forward ten years later and my volleyball career came to a close as I graduated high school. What’s my point in telling you this? Simple. I conquered a fear. Conquering that fear led me to living ten years of my life playing the sport that I love and learning a lot about myself. I can confidently say that I would not be the woman I am today without those ten years of being a competitive athlete. I grew immensely mentally, I learned things about myself that I didn’t know were inside me and I developed life-long friendships. I owe a great deal to my parents for pushing me to conquer a fear, and to volleyball for being a huge factor in shaping my character.

If you say “to hell with fear” (like my parents did for me) and face everything and rise, you are going to grow significantly as a person. Fear can be a healthy thing when it comes to doing things that puts your life, or someone else’s, in danger. But ultimately, fear was made to be conquered. Go with your gut, and fight for what you want. Fear should never be a reason to not accomplish something you dream about. Don’t let fear stop you from living your life. Who cares if you fail! Failing in life is inevitable so don’t let that prevent you from going after something.

Like Babe Ruth so famously said, “Don’t let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game.”