There are so many times in life when fear can get the best of you.   Being a parent is full of those times- you question your decisions every day, because you aren’t sure of the outcome.    Today Erica Barker is sharing three ways to overcome fear and her story of how she overcomes it in her experiences.

Thank you to Erika Barker at We Three Crabs for this guest post…
When I was in high school I dated someone who was very adventurous. I admired him. He was everything I was not. Our relationship did not last long because I did not participate in any of the adventures with him. He wanted so bad to take me scuba diving, white water rafting, rappelling, hiking, caving and all kinds of other adventures.

I was scared. Scared to try new things, scared to step out of my comfort zone, scared of failure and most of all scared to succeed. Fear can paralyze you.

Fear Can Paralyze You – Break Free

Today our family went on a hike. We did not make it to the summit, but we hiked just over two miles up. The trail was treacherous in parts. Snow covered and just boards to walk across.

It was hard and I felt myself say “I don’t think I can do this”. I was paralyzed with fear.

When I slipped and my foot went down in the snow knee deep I panicked. I made it back up on the board, my feet were then soaked, but I kept going. We met some people coming down and we asked them if they went to the top. They said yes and that it was another two miles and not fun. One of them was wet above his knees. We made the decision to head back down.

Did you know that 80% of all hiking accidents happen on the way down? Yea. I can see why.

There were parts I just wanted to sit down and slide. I slipped again and found myself hip deep in snow, I thought I was loosing my shoe. My husband came back and talked me out of the panic.
I heard his calm voice say “Calm down, you are fine.” I made it back up onto the snow covered log. We made it past the snow covered area and back onto the wider trail.

I definitely felt paralyzed on parts of that trail. Fear can do that to you. I’m proud and happy I did that trail. I know I did not make it to the summit, but I met a personal goal. I also stepped out of my comfort zone and took an adventure. It has taken me twenty years since that high-school boyfriend to find adventure.

Three things to do in the middle of the fear that will help you break free.

1. Pray. Prayer helps you to stop the worry. Cast your cares on him, for he cares for you.

2. Tell yourself you can do this. I had to say out loud “I can do this”.

3. Take two more steps, even when you think you can’t. Chances are if you push through and take two more steps, you will be able to keep going.

My name is Erica and I am a  wife to an Alaskan Fisherman who also works in a Gold mine (Aka “Big Daddy Crab”) and a mother to a “Little Crab”.
We live in Juneau, Alaska. I share stories of our life in Alaska, inspiration for other mothers and tales of Life, Love and Adventure
over at We Three Crabs. https://ericabarker.com

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