The most popular question I've been asked over the past three months, other than if my Christmas tree still up, is what motivated me to start this blog. I had dreamed of starting a blog for awhile, largely because I fantasized I could turn blogging into a career that could be carried out from a beach chair on Pawley's Island. However, it wasn't until two friends gently nudged me that I took the idea of starting a blog seriously.
Back in December, my friend Anna, who works for Palmetto Health Foundation, asked me to write a short piece on why Alex and I joined The Cavalry, a group of young leaders charging to meet the high-priority needs of Palmetto Health Cancer Centers. Here's what I wrote:
When Anna Saunders asked me to write about
why Alex and I joined The Cavalry, I kept putting it off. Honestly, I felt a little guilty. We don’t have truly personal cancer stories
like some of our members. Yes, we have
known people who have bravely fought the disease, but we have never seen it up
close and personal on a daily basis, so we didn’t want to take away from the
stories of those who have.
I also kept putting off writing our story because I am a
procrastinator. It took about three tries
for me to actually fill out the application to join The Calvary in the first
place. I had a wide variety of reasons
as to why we should wait, and filling out the application and making the
financial commitment kept moving to the bottom of my “To Do” list.
But here’s the thing, cancer doesn’t procrastinate. It doesn’t wait until it’s convenient, and it
surely doesn’t care about what is on my “To Do” list. It requires immediate attention. Once I realized that, I knew we had to take
action.
One word has continually popped into my head: NOW. Now is the time to do what we can to fight
cancer. If we wait until we have a
personal connection to support the cause, it’s too late. That is why Alex and I joined The
Cavalry. We want to take a proactive approach. We want to help Palmetto Health Cancer
Centers fight cancer in the Midlands. We
want to do what we can today to make sure we are prepared for tomorrow.
As we enter this New Year, let’s all resolve to live NOW, to
love NOW, and to give NOW.
When Anna thanked me for sharing my story, she casually suggested that I should start a blog. While I was flattered, I didn't really think I had enough thoughts that were really blog-worthy. Oddly enough, a few weeks later, during a conversation at lunch, the topic came up again. My friend Sherry and I often like to discuss what we are going to be when we grow up, and I happened to mention I had always wanted to write a blog. Sherry looked at me with her no-nonsense stare and said, "Well, why don't you?"
It took me about five seconds to realize Sherry was right. Why didn't I write a blog? It's not like I was giving up my day job. Starting a blog is totally free, and there's really nothing to lose, except maybe a little pride. So, without spending a lot of time thinking about it and giving myself time to change my mind, I marched across the hall and started writing the crazy story of my Christmas tree that was still up two months after Christmas.
It's easy to talk ourselves out of doing things. I know I've used all sorts of excuses: I'll do it when the kids are older. I'll do it when I lose weight. I'll do it when I have more money, a bigger house, a different job.
But these excuses aren't really what hold me back. What holds me back the most is fear-fear of what other people will think, fear of what will happen if I fail. What I've come to realize is this: what I should be most afraid of is never taking the leap.
When I think back over my life, I've been scared, nervous, fearful about doing a lot of things. Even in just the past 10 years, I wonder how different my life would be if I had let my fear of getting rejected stop me from stalking Alex on Facebook. What if I had let my fear of having kids stop me from starting a family? Some of the things that have scared me the most have led to the best things in my life.
What is it you've been putting off--Supporting that cause? Starting that business? Having that talk? Applying for that job? Righting that wrong? Life is full of risks, some that work out and others that don't. Sometimes, the only thing we can do is step out on faith and give it a shot.
Don't get me wrong, I still get scared of trying new things, and I definitely still procrastinate- yes, the tree is still up! But I'm working to make sure my fears don't stop me from missing out on all life has to offer.
