It was a very bright winter morning; the sun was out, and the weather looked good. I took the shuttle as usual from my house to the campus as I was headed to the library. While in the shuttle, I met a classmate, and apparently we were headed to the same place. In no time, we were at our final stop, and then we highlighted from the shuttle and headed the way of the library.
Why we entered the library I was going to stay on the ground floor as usual, but I noticed my classmate was heading towards the elevator. "What floor are you heading to?" I asked. "7th floor," he replied, "and there is usually less distraction over there." He added, trying to wet my appetite. "You know what? I would join you today," I said. In no time, we were on the elevator. "Ding don! 7th floor!" The elevator yelled. "Was I on the 7th floor?" "It's unbelievable," I thought to myself. I have never gone past the first floor, not because I didn't want to, but because of my phobia for elevators. I had a smooth time reading. After spending about 4 hours, my classmate was ready to leave the library but I wasn't.
I didn't have a choice but to pack my bag so we could go on the elevator together. I said to myself, "Why do you need to leave with him?" I decided to stay back; I spent an additional 2 hours. This decision meant that I would be on the elevator alone. Very scary thoughts started to creep into my mind as I packed my bag in preparation to leave the library. I had to face my fears; I got on the elevator alone and made it to the ground floor in peace.
The same day, I went to another building on campus, and I went up and down the elevator several times. Guess who now uses the elevator almost every time, and guess who now reads on the 8th floor of the library (The library has 8 floors and I love dead silence on the 8th floor)? This was how I overcame my phobia for elevators.
Sometimes you just have to face your fears head-on. No wonder Judy Blume said "Each of us must confront our own fears, must come face to face with them. How we handle our fears will determine where we go with the rest of our lives. To experience adventure or to be limited by the fear." Fears are limiting beliefs that hold us back; we have to intentionally face them.
Are you interested in sharing any experiences of how you overcame a certain fear in your life or a current fear you have? I would love to read your thoughts in the comments.
PS: To read about my most embarrassing elevator experience 😅, click here
Thanks for reading.
2 comments
No wonder
ReplyDeleteNo wonder what 😀😀
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