Being bold and brave isn’t about being fearless. It’s about being full of fear and carrying on anyway.

The things you haven’t done are the things you can change.
We all lie awake sometimes, worrying about things we’ve done – or haven’t done. While we can’t change what we have done, we can definitely change what we haven’t yet!

It’s SO normal to think and think about something you don’t believe you can do (or do well enough). Overthinking can be like blowing and blowing a bubble, watching the worry grow. But when we try, and manage to do the thing we’re afraid of, it’s like popping that bubble of worry.

Often, once we’ve pushed ourselves to do it, we’ll find we can’t remember why we were so worried about it before. And that’s the best feeling. Each time we push ourselves through the fear and get to the other side it’s a confidence boost. The more we do it the stronger we get - like we’re becoming better versions of ourselves.

Why not now?
Think of something you’ve wanted to do for a while but haven’t yet.

It’s not that you should do it now, but that you could. So why not?

Think of it this way and suddenly it feels more like you’re in control of the task, rather than it being in control of you. It’s your goal - you own it.

Wouldn’t it feel good to just make a start? If it seems too big, can you halve it?

If there’s someone you want to start a conversation with, start by just smiling and saying hello. If there’s something you want to write or draw, make a start with the first line. If you want to run, start with a walk. Just start. Because you can. And when you do, you’ll be more confident for the next step, and the next...

When you’ve done it, be proud.
When we compare ourselves, it can seem like other people put in so little effort. It can seem like they find it easy to do the things we want to do. But we don’t know how many times they’ve tried and failed, or wished they’d done it differently. We can’t really know how much effort other have people put into that one moment we see.

But you know the work you’ve put in. It can take a bit of practice, but it feels good to celebrate that without playing the achievement down. We can all take a little time to enjoy being proud of what we achieve.