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Learning to Run Toward Your Fears
By Russell LehmanN
I have come a long , long way in life . 14 years ago , at the height of my distress , I was pretty much non-verbal . I was too afraid of the outside world to speak to anyone other than my parents . I stayed inside my house as much as possible , clinging to my parents ’ sides , terrified of any external stimuli , such as the doorbell ringing , the TV being on , or the microwave going off . I was a prisoner inside my own body . I would have multiple meltdowns every day , curling into a ball in the corner of a room , just crying for hours . I could barely take care of myself .
Now , however , I ’ m an internationally known author , poet and motivational speaker who travels the country , spreading a message of hope , awareness , understanding and acceptance about autism and other disabilities .
The amount of personal growth I have experienced has been astronomical . The catalyst behind this growth is not due to some pill or “ cure ” but rather to pushing myself outside of my comfort zone daily . Every single day I take every chance I can to push my mental abilities to the test , whether it be pushing myself to the limit at the gym , initiating a conversation with a stranger , placing myself in the middle of a loud crowd to expand my sensory processing capabilities , or just simply making full eye contact with an individual I ’ m talking to .
I do this not only to further grow and develop into the best person I can be but also to conquer the remaining demons that I do still deal with . I happen to have not only autism but also anxiety , depression , OCD and a previous battle with anorexia . If I were to stay inside my comfort zone and not push myself out into the extremely frightening outside world , I would eventually regress back to where I was 14 years ago .
My progress in life may seem like a miracle on the surface ; however , everybody and anybody can attain this type of personal development . My advice ? Run toward , not away from , your fears . Fear , first and foremost , is nothing but opportunity disguised as risk . Behind every single fear in your life is a wondrous reward that you will only attain if you push through what frightens you . It is a fact that when you push yourself outside of your comfort zone , your chance for personal growth increases exponentially .
Failure is another factor of life that we all need to embrace . If we were to never fail , we would never know what we need to improve upon , and we would never be aware of what we are truly capable of . When there is a chance you may fail at something , you either succeed or you learn . There is no losing when it comes to
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