I was talking to a close friend yesterday (Jermaine) about fear and how it's a natural experience for all of us but sometimes it gets in the way of us experiencing everything that we should in life.

Sometimes fear is justified because of past experiences or actual dangers but often times the fears we have and the consequences we imagine are sometimes unlikely to happen. Even if you have fears based on your past... it's important to believe that history doesn't always repeat itself. No one can take fear away from us... but often if you put your fear aside and try something outside of your comfort zone the experience can often be very exilerating.

A lot of people start the weight loss process fearing they will fail (just like every other time they tried). If you start a new fitness regime with this mentality you probably aren't going to stick with it until you succeed because at one point you will let your fear of failure get the better of you and subconsciously prove to yourself that you will fail by quitting when it gets difficult or making excuses for why you failed.

Failure definitely isn't a fear of mine, but I do have plenty of fears. Some are because of previous experiences but many are not. Running in wooded areas by myself is definitely a fear I have. As someone who grew up in the country this seems odd but when I became a city dweller in my early 20s... I became more fearful of nature and what lurks behind the trees.

This morning I wasn't feeling motivated to go for my regular interval training on the boardwalk... I knew I had to do my 5km run... I just wasn't sure where I wanted to run. I happened to be in the city early this morning and decided to go for a run in Shubie Park by myself. This is a huge milestone for me because of my fear of running in wooded parks. What do I fear about it? What don't I fear might be easier to answer! I fear of hungry animals, I fear being approached or attacked by men lurking in the woods, I fear twisting my ankle while running... I fear getting lost in the paths and not knowing which way to get back to my car. Sure all of these things could happen to me... but the likelihood is probably not very high in Shubie Park at 7:45am on a Wednesday.

So I decided to be brave... try something that made me feel a bit uncomfortable... this morning I stood at the Shubie Canal... took a deep breath and started my run through the wood paths... WOW... it was an amazing feeling and probably the best run I had in months. At the two furthest points of the run... I discovered parts of the park that I didn't even know existed... completely gorgeous picnic spots on the lake... it was breathtaking. I am relieved to report... the only hungry animals I encountered were squirrels... all the men walking their dogs didn't appear to be serial killers (or they spared my life if they were), I didn't get lost, I didn't get hurt, and I made it back to my car in one piece! I ended my run with the most fabulous stretch on the Shubie Canal with the ducks paddling around... it was totally Zen!

I agree with my wise friend... sometimes we need to put ourselves outside of our comfort zone in order to experience some of the best things in life... but there is no doubt it takes courage to get over a fear. Whatever your fear is... you need to decide if it's a rational fear or just excuses you are using to hold you back from experiencing things that can bring you great happiness.