MESSAGE FROMTHE PUBLISHER
AJ ARAPOVIC
JUMPING INTO FEAR
Fear is something everyone must face, even if we don’t want to. Well, let’s “go there!” We’re all scared of something. I’m afraid of disappointing my family and friends, and our clients and readers. In fact, I’m scared all the time. I will even admit to having lived with anxiety for a while. (And It still occasionally kicks in!) Whew, I said it. Now it’s out there. Is the world going to come down around me? No. But what is going to happen is that I will feel less afraid of being “found out” or being judged about it. You see, what I do when something scares me is I lock in on my fear and I don’t quit until I do what I set out to accomplish. Whether it’s the fear of heights (which I conquered by looking down from a balcony of a 60-story building, even though I almost fainted), or the fear of making mistakes (which I conquered by surrounding myself with positive and knowledgeable people.) I believe that nothing can control or paralyze us if we let our fears become the catalyst to change our circumstances for the better. After all, what would life be like if everything was easy? I mean, imag- ine it. There would be nothing to overcome. How exciting would that be? You know, the people who make history aren’t the people who have it easy or who say, “I can’t.” They’re the people who say, “You know what? This is my fear, but to hell with it. I’m going to give it a try anyway.” They are the people who just jump right in. And once the door to our fears is knocked open, we usually discover that the bogeyman in the dark closet is just a shadow. There’s really nothing to be afraid of. So, instead of being afraid, instead of shrinking from the things we hide away in our minds, hearts and souls, we should make a list of our fears and tackle each of them one by one. Most of all, we need to believe that challenging our fears can be a gift — one that strengthens us. In some sense, what we fear forces us to reach deep inside to find our personal power in a place where we thought it didn’t exist. Sometimes I think that maybe, just maybe, fears are life’s way of connecting us with others through empathy. They prepare us to share our testimony with those who are going through similar challenges. I know that every time something scares me, I shake my fist in its face and say, “Let’s go. Let’s do this.” I jump into my fear and when I arrive at that new place of perspective, I understand that I’ve shed some of
what was holding me back. I metamorphosize into the being I was born to become and I’m ready to serve others. So, won’t you join me? Let’s let go of our fears. Let’s jump! Happy Holidays from me, Hanifa and our daughters Iryna and Adrianna!
46 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , N OVEMBER 2017
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