Facing Fear Series Intro: Everyone deals with fear on some level. I’m currently in a season of facing fear myself, in a few areas actually. I decided to open up and share, and I’m hoping you’ll benefit. If you know someone that could benefit, please share this post! Today’s post is all about facing the fear of chasing a dream.

For a while I have had the thought “I’ve got to write a book on that,” about hearing God and about making moments in life meaningful, about making the practical things in life powerful. All the while, keeping it simple. (Spirituality gets so complicated these days and I’m not sure it needs to be.) I have also been thinking “so many people have already successfully tackled that topic, and really who would want to read a book written by someone no one even knows? What do I have to say? How could I think I am “sooo great” that I should write a book that someone should spend their time reading it?”

Here is where the chase starts for me, in my mind. When I am wide awake, completely aware the odds are against me. The chase is all about mindset and pace. This fear affects my excellence level and my efforts. What I know & understand and what I don’t know & don’t understand is all that I have to work with.

The first step to chasing a dream is to identify one. For me, this is sometimes the most difficult step because of two things: 1. Reality. 2. My Qualifications, (or lack there of.) Its important to understand two things about reality and qualifications, you can change them and you can’t change them.

This is what makes it difficult, I can’t change reality, until I change something about myself, and I can’t change my qualifications, unless I change something about myself. So really getting started on chasing a dream, starts with change. Change in my schedule, in my conversations, in my thoughts about God and in my thoughts about me!

Here are some dreams I have chased my lifetime:

Attended College

Married to my Best Friend (Healthy Marriage)

Motherhood (Healthy Kids)

Moving to a new city & new church (Healthy Community)

Starting a business

and officially started writing a book!!!

The second step to chasing a dream is to call it by name. This step makes me very nervous, but I don’t take as long to get to it. Once I identify a dream, I start to talk about it with the appropriate people, looking for help to recognize that step one is clear. I talk with my husband and others who can speak into my life, what do they see and know about my reality and my qualifications? What do they see in me that would need to adjust for the journey ahead?

This step makes me nervous and fearful, because sometimes instead of people speaking into my life and offering their insight to make the journey bigger & better, they can put my dream in a box, they can judge, assume or simply misunderstand, and eventually just not support the dream. Overall, I hate being misunderstood, but I understand I can’t control everyones perception of me. That is when I remind myself of what Mercy Lokulutu once said when addressing the question of capacity and doing big things for God. She said “God didn’t speak it to them, so they won’t understand. God spoke it to you, so you have to keep going.”

Here are some people I have reached out to, to call my dream by name with:

My best friend (in this case my spouse)

Friends; who are also dreamers who set goals and achieve them

Family

Pastors / Mentors

Although this list is not in the order I shared my dream, Social Media was the very last place to officially go public. (I hope I don’t have to explain why.) ;) 

About two weeks ago, my husband and I went to dinner with another couple, they are our pastors. I was nervous to tell them about writing a book, because I am aware of other peoples perceptions and that has been the reason I haven’t started writing before. Being nervous I decided to send an email before our dinner appointment. The email contained a bullet point list of some things I wanted to cover in our conversation. I wanted them to understand my heart and my mind on the subject. I was very honest. I told them I was afraid to have the conversation, but that I wanted to have it.

Facing fear is difficult, but once I acknowledged the dream and the fear with those that I know care about me and want what is best for me, I found the courage and peace to move forward.

The third step to chasing a big dream is to expose lies. In the middle of the conversation at dinner, one of the pastors looked straight at me and said “I don’t know why you wouldn’t be able to write this book.” I remember feeling relieved but also that I knew the truth the whole time, I just needed to know someone else knew the truth too. Having someone else see a reality that isn’t real yet, helps expose lies. Conversations about “How could I think I have something great to say?” “What is realistic and unrealistic about this dream?” “Who would really read and learn anything from this book?” “Will I be alone on this journey?” all exposed what is really inside. Fear and greatness.

God designed us with a desire for wanting to build something great and meaningful in our lifetime. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” Ephesians 2:10 The beginning of chasing a dream looks a lot like making a plan and sticking to it, talking with people about the project, recieving their ideas & wisdom from their experience about my reality & qualifications, and finally being completely dependent on the greatness that is inside, rather than the pressures of this world. “Greater is He that is in me, than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4

According to the University of Scranton only 8% of people achieve their goals. Let’s change that! I believe only the biggest dreams are worth going after and it will require change from us first. Get organized, and go for it! Chasing a dream really starts with just starting! Does that make sense?

***Wondering how to get organized and start your dream? Share this post, so you can refer back to it on your facebook timeline, and print this simple Chasing A Dream chart. Fill it out by yourself or talk it over with someone who would support you in your chase. Let’s do this guys! xo, sa

P.C. McKenna Dawn