How to Get Over Your Fear of Doing Something You’ve Never Done Before…
Hey beautiful soul,
A Moment I'll Never Forget
Learning how to overcome fear isn't about waiting until you feel confident—it's about taking action despite the fear.
Today, I want to share a story about a moment that reminded me of that in the most unexpected place:
An airport.
There was a piano in the airport and a guy was playing a song I knew. And in this moment, I felt the urge to get up from where I was sitting and sing.
The Voice of Fear
I could feel the nerves. I could hear my shadow and fear speaking such complete utter rubbish in my mind. Things like:
"What if I look stupid?", "What if I forget the words?", "What if people laugh?", "I’ll probably crack.", "What if someone records me and I go wrong?", "People will think I’m..." la la la la laaaaa…
It was actually exhausting hearing these thoughts.
Fear or Love?
But then, in that exact moment of hearing these voices, which by the way are not mine, they are stories of the past that have been made up by societal conditions, childhood experiences, etc., I had a decision to make. A choice. We always have a choice:
Fear or love.
I can either listen to those fears, or I can choose to listen to my soul.
Now this is when my body actually started moving before my mind even caught up. I got up and my feet started walking. I walked over with trepidation and nerves, but I did it anyway.
My intuition actually spoke to me loud in that moment and said:
"You HAVE to do this."
Why I Had to Do It
Now, I know why.
To prove to myself and others that you can do anything even when you’re scared.
"Fear is the gatekeeper to your greatest gifts."
— Joan of Arc
Following My Intuition
I walked over to the guy playing the piano and as I came closer, I saw a lady standing next to him and I realised that she was singing the lyrics under her breath.
I didn’t know these people, but my intuition spoke again:
"Sing."
I said to her, "Let's sing," and I put my bags and phone down and got present. We sang and it was such a beautiful moment. We were singing harmonies and everything all in sync.
Something Bigger Than Me
People started gathering and listening, and we both locked eyes and sang from our hearts.
I knew in that moment, the singing wasn’t just for me. It was for that lady singing and for everyone watching and listening.
When you do something truly from your heart, whether that’s singing, dancing, speaking, writing or creating—whatever it is—something bigger than you takes over.
Confidence Comes From Doing
We finished the song, and everyone around us started clapping. It honestly felt exhilarating.
I learnt two things in that moment:
I needed to document this moment on camera for myself and my evidence bank of confidence building (you can watch the video here).
Confidence and competence go hand in hand. Even though I was scared, confidence comes from doing the thing… even when you’re scared. I was more confident now, to sing once more.
The Magic Continued
We decided on another song, and I hit record.
We started to sing and then another lady hovered by. I could feel she wanted to join. I could feel her nervousness. However, as I’d just got over my fear of doing something I’ve never done before, I waved at her to join us.
She came over and genuinely, in that moment, the most beautiful magic occurred in front of our very eyes.
Little did I realise just five minutes prior, when I was sitting down, that I would be singing harmonies and melodies with two women I didn’t know…
You can watch the full video here.
My 5 Tips to Overcome Fear
1. Do It Anyway
You have a choice—fear or love. Even if you’re scared, do it anyway. You can either stay in low frequency or move into higher frequency by going for it.
2. Come Back Into Your Body
Take a deep breath and come back into your body.
Your body holds the wisdom. Fear comes from the mind.
3. Return to the Present Moment
Silence the thoughts and come back to the present moment.
The now is all we have. Fearful thoughts are stories of the past or projections of the future.
4. Repeat It
When you do get over the fear of doing it once, do it again, and again, and again.
The repetition will reinforce the mind that you are safe. It will give the mind evidence and confirmation that you have done it before, so this time will be less fearful.
5. Celebrate Yourself
Celebrate the small steps and the big steps, because every step leads you to more confidence.
You are an incredible force.
Want to Go Deeper?
If you enjoyed this piece, here’s a podcast I did recently with Milly Papworth, who is another communication and confidence coach at Innervox, on how to overcome fear of public speaking.
At InnerVox, we help organisations build confidence, communication and authentic self-expression through transformative experiential workshops. If you're ready to build success in your team, we'd love to support you. Click here for more on these workshops.
Until Next Time
Sending so much love,
Until next time… See you in the next blog.
Melissa 💛✨
