I’ve been playing a game the last couple of weeks that would make Eleanor Roosevelt proud. It’s called, “Do One Scary Thing Per Day.”

Whether it’s sending an email, making a call, having a conversation, or doing something I’ve never done before, I’ve been challenging myself to make sure that each scary action is related to my vision. Moving toward a vision doesn’t have to be scary. It’s usually just unfamiliar but in my case, unfamiliar or uncertain feels like status quo. I knew it was time to dial it up a notch.

First I had to admit that the I’m not-sure-if-I-want-this dance, avoidance (aka procrastination) and not listening to my intuition are all forms of distraction. When the things I’m doing aren’t fun, or challenging, or soul serving, it’s time to make change.

Because the thing is, nobody knows better than me what I truly want, or am capable of. It means that even with guidance, shifts can’t happen unless I’m onboard steering the boat.

I also admitted that the theme underlying all of my excuses was a sneaky one: fear. It’s not so much that the actions I’m taking are scary or unfamiliar, it’s what I’ve made their outcome mean.

For example, if I make this ask and the response is no, does that mean I suck? That’s what fear would have me believe, when the truth is, I can ask someone else. Or, if I take that action and I fail, does that mean I have to give up on my dream? Fear would have me believe yes, when the truth is, I can try something else. Fear never, ever goes away so I’m making a choice to dance with it.

I’ve been encouraging my private client interior designer clients to do the same. One of them sent me this note yesterday, “I think I’ve done 79 scary things today” and I got to say with the results she’s been producing in her business, it shows.

What about you? What’s one scary thing you do today that will move your business forward?