Fear prevents a lot of us from going after what we want in life. We get stuck in one spot, paralyzed by fear, like an alligator caught in quicksand. But if we take action on our dreams, we'll realize that Fear Is Like A Bluffing Teen. Let me explain what I mean by this.

SHAWN LOVES TO INTIMIDATE

I was substitute teaching at a school and working in a classroom with students who had a lot of behavior issues. There was an 8th grader, Shawn, who was 6 feet tall and about 180 pounds. He had a reputation for being intimidating to both students and teachers.

One day, Shawn and I were in the room, and he decided to try and intimidate me. I said, "Shawn, it’s time for you to go to class." "I'm not going. I'm going to sit here and play video games and watch YouTube videos." "You can choose to sit there, but you won't be playing games or watching videos. That's the school computer, so I'll have to inform the office that you are refusing to go to class, and they need to come take their computer from you."

I'LL THROW THIS CHAIR AT YOUR HEAD

This angered Shawn, so he stood up, grabbed his chair and said, "I'll throw this chair at your head." I calmly responded, "If you throw that chair, you'll go to jail--that's for sure. But what you can't predict is what I'll do after you hit me with the chair. I'm not one of these students or teachers who are intimidated by you, so I'll think twice before throwing that chair."

Shawn held the chair in his hand and stared at me with anger, but then he set it down and picked up his backpack. I told him that I respected his decision by saying "I really appreciate you making a good decision; it shows that you are maturing as an individual."

You see, Shawn is like our fear; it tries to appear more intimidating than it really is. It hopes we don't call its bluff because it knows that if we do, we'll realize that it's just like a bluffing teen. So whatever dream your fear is stopping you from pursing, call that fear's bluff by taking action towards that dream because You Are WORTHY TO BE GREAT!