On Fear + Courage

When I quit the practice of law, a lot of people I spoke to said, “Oh Nicole, you’re so brave! We wish we could do that but [insert excuse here],” and others would say, “That’s so courageous of you!”

I would respond with “Thank you” or “You can do it too!” with a smile on my face.

But on the inside, I was scared as hell. I had no idea if my business would succeed. I didn’t know if I’d ever make enough money to pay off my massive student loan debt. I was worried I had let my parents down. I was petrified of people’s opinions of my choices.

The only thing I knew was that I couldn’t spend another day being miserable as a lawyer, much less the rest of my life. I was unhappy, and I just knew that that couldn’t be all that God had written for me. I knew that my strengths, skills, and personality were built for something else…something bigger!

I wouldn’t call that brave though. I’m just someone who decided to do something about it. That’s all.

To be honest, I was more fearful of looking back on my life in 30 years only to see that I had lived a life void of any risk-taking. Or that I never followed my heart, didn’t chase my dreams, or didn’t push myself to reach my full potential. That, to me, was scarier.

To this day, my only fear is that I am not being courageous enough every day.