Do your hopes and dreams bring you fear?

As I put my producing hat back on for First Hand Woman‘s NYC debut, I have been reminded daily about one thing: FEAR. Yep, big, honking, fear.

You know what I’m talking about. Not a monster in the closet, not the boogeyman, not even zombies who want to eat your brains. I am talking about the fear that comes from attempting the “thing” that you really want to do.

Because your mind tells you that to attempt the “thing” and fail, means that you’re not good enough.

Yep. I said it. You may not be able to articulate it right away, it may be a nagging feeling, it may be hiding from you, hoping you won’t shine your light in its direction. But, trust me, that fear is there.

In First Hand Woman, the character “Anger” actually fights a monster on behalf of the other stages of loss. She faces her fears head on and does battle to the finish.

Above: Patrice Goodman as “Anger”

I will be completely straight up with you and say that the day I found out that my play First Hand Woman was being invited to a festival in NYC this summer, I squealed with joy! I was like, “Wowowowowow! My play is going to New York City! Yaaayyyy!” And then two days later, I woke up with a knot the size of Wisconsin in my belly, and I was like, “AHHHHHHH!! My play is going to New York City! Nooooo!” Lol right?

Yes indeed, this is one of those times. In my mind’s eye, I have been seeing First Hand Woman in NYC for almost a decade:

Dreaming about it.
Photoshopping it.
Wishing for it.
Hoping for it.
“If-you-build-it-they-will-come-ing it”. And all that good stuff.

And now, here’s my chance to roll the dice. It’s here. It’s wonderful. And it’s terrifying.  Yes, fear has a great habit of casting an intense spotlight onto something that has too much power over us.

So how do we find zen in fear?

It’s an age-old answer: By facing it.

By being bold, and by daring to make a piece of our dreams come true, even though we’re scared. Piece of cake, right?  🙂

Now, here’s where you really get to take action. I want you to write down five things that you’re afraid of, and make sure you challenge yourself – sorry no zombies this time. Got them? Good.

Next I want you to claim them. In the comments below, I want you to tell me at least one action that you will take to face one of your fears.

You’re bold! You’re brave! You’re awesome!

PS – If you want to read about how I faced my fear of flying by, er, jumping out of a plane, click HERE.

And as always…

Dream up,

~Sarah Michelle Brown
First Hand Woman Actor, Playwright + Producer