The cold never bothered me anyway, be brave.

If you’re an introvert, you may not like asking people things or going outside of the “norm” to get what you want. But like Elsa from “Frozen” you could let your nemesis (fear / worry / shyness / not wanting to intrude) not worry you.

Growing up in Australia, I got used to the large open spaces and to the warm, dry weather. My feet were toughened from traipsing about the hot sand by the river and lagoon where I grew up. The hot didn’t really bother me, and for some reason I decided not to let the cold bother me either.

During the winters, as a young adult, I went about without jumpers or warm clothes, to acclimatize myself to cold temperatures, and it did work up until a point (or age).

Physically putting up with the hot or the cold or something else, other than life-threatening of course, is probably more comfortable for those of us who are introverted and scared.

We don’t like to impose ourselves upon others.

Yet consider how brave you have been.

If your Life has been riddled with threats or assaults or ridicule and blame, with taunts or intolerance or discrimination, and with identity confusion; you have probably been really frightened at some times.

Even as an older person, you have probably drawn back or not got involved even at the smallest level, with dialoguing with others or doing something, because something has held you back.

F.E.A.R.

False Evidence Appearing Real

“What if they don’t like me? What if it’s the wrong thing to say?

What will he / she do if they don’t like what I say / do?”

The distant voice within comes out tops sometimes.

Yet, I am sure that there many times when you have bravely asked someone something or done something, even as insignificant as me asking the concierge in the lobby where I work, for a “Harmony badge.”

Yes, it was Western Australia’s “Harmony Week” last week and when I saw a beautiful big badge about it, magnetized to the back of a computer at the concierge’s desk, I wanted one.

So Ms Celine marches over to the Desk and bravely and shyly says “Hello, do you have a spare Harmony Week badge?”

The harassed concierge glanced at me and said “What do you mean?”

I bravely stuck to my guns and motioned to the badge that I could see, but he couldn’t see, which had been magnetized onto a computer. I explained what I saw and the Light began to dawn in his eyes.

He scrounged about in a drawer and said abruptly “Here” and handed me a misfit badge. The pin on the back had been improperly affixed so I couldn’t pin on my treasure.

Back at my desk, I thought about asking our only guy in the team to help me, but I hesitated thinking “He’s rather busy at the moment” and “Maybe he’ll be angry with me for asking.”

My eyes fell upon a friendly female colleague. “She’s helpful and clever, I’ll ask her” I thought.

Now you may think nothing of this, but in truth, only 2 years ago I started asking others for help, for even as innocuous a thing as helping me fix up the pin on my badge.

She got a letter opener and deftly picked out the pin mechanism so that I could slide the shaft behind the enclosure.

Much to my delight and with gratitude to her and to the concierge, I promptly put on my badge.

The point of this Story is that for some of us, even the smallest things mean that we are being brave.

I only realized this year how frightened that I have been of so many small things, but now I have made a conscious choice to continue to be brave.

Along with truly loving myself, which has taken me 55 years, I am more relaxed now by being even braver for me. I have realized that my trying to be in control of everything has stemmed from being worried and up-tight.

It is actually a brave thing for those of us whom have led such traumatic and scary lives, to relax and to allow.

As a result of my being brave for me, and not letting things bother me so much, my Life is flowing at ease for me, and for this I am very grateful.

Don’t let depression or feeling upset over what didn’t happen in the past rule your life.

Don’t let anxiety or feeling worried over what might happen in the future rule your life, or frighten you.

Be brave and take one step at a time, and you will get there.

If you liked this Story, you may be interested in the one below.