Karla’s Korner: The Importance of Being Nervous

The Importance of Being Nervous

Author J.K. Rowling wrote “Anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve”. Rowling herself proved that she had the nerve to set her mind on becoming a writer and well, we all know how that turned out. I received a text from my daughter on Friday morning just before 8 a.m. stating that she had arrived at her new job, was sitting in the parking lot fearing she may throw up as she felt like it was her first day of kindergarten. Assuring my girl that she would be fine and that it was indeed her first day of kindergarten; her first real job since graduating from college this past spring. Assuring her that there will be more jobs in her future, each one I am sure will be another stepping stone in the path of her career; much like moving from kindergarten to first grade and beyond. Landing a great job in the medical field finally became a reality and she was nervous as in ready to throw up nervous. Flash forward about 8 hours she returned home and couldn’t stop talking about how great her day was. My guess is there were at least“bajillion” kindergartners across the country that came home recently talking endlessly about their first day of school. The very same children who cried as they stepped on the big yellow bus in the early morning came bouncing through the door filled with excitement that afternoon.

No matter what “firsts” we experience each one should be recognized as important and relevant as we travel our life journey. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf once said “If your dreams don’t scare you they aren’t big enough”. Quite often we find ourselves filled with fear and avoiding what scares us, when in reality it’s the fear that will make us stronger. Facing our fears and allowing our nerves to be shaken a bit is much like training to run a race. The road is long and intimidating but when we cross the finish line the victory is sweet. As I encouraged my girl to take a few deep breaths, pull herself up by her proverbial boot straps and head into the first day of her new job I reflected on the many “firsts” I have had in my own life and appreciated her situation even more. Remembering my very first “big girl job”, getting married, giving birth, running to the top of a mountain in my first 5K are all examples of nerve wracking situations that made me a better person.

We often relate nervousness to weakness. As we try to justify our nervousness we lose focus on the task ahead of us; like our first day of school or work. We view nervousness as bad, much like an enemy of sorts. Nervousness is actually a response to a stimuli (I looked that one up) and can cause the phenomenon discovered by Walter Cannon in 1929 known as “fight or flight”. How often are we tempted to run away from those nervous situations only to find that when we stay and “fight” through them we learn a life lesson; we grow in spirit. Facing our fears and nervous situations means that we are not living a mundane, boring life; we are not merely existing rather growing, learning and developing our minds. Keeping in mind that it is important to grow and develop our physical selves as well; mind body spirit.
Whatever it is that makes you nervous I encourage you to accept it as an important element of your life growing experience and face it head on. When we are nervous about something we acknowledge its importance in our lives; much like my daughter’s first job. Accepting our nervousness as a positive allows us to stay humble; humility is a good thing.

Being nervous is often referred to as having “butterflies” in your stomach. The butterfly is a symbol of transformation and new beginnings. The butterfly isn’t always a beautiful winged creature rather it starts out as an icky little worm that wraps itself in a spit covered film creating a cocoon to transform itself into its new self. Having “butterflies” in our stomach is a good thing, it is a symbol of transformation of overcoming our fears and emerging better than before. Life is filled with nervous situations, times that cause us to fret, worry and be filled with fear. How we handle those nervous times determines the outcome of the situation. Appreciating the nervousness as a necessity of growth will allow you to dream big, love deeply and live fully. Be brave. Be strong. Be nervous….

Peace,
Karla

I think we all need a touch point a place we can go to be inspired. Karla is my children’s teacher, a good friend, and a person with a heart of gold. I hope that her words will inspire you to do more. We are only as good as the people we surround ourselves with. It is important to listen with your heart and proceed with your eyes open. Enjoy!

Read more Karla’s Korner, also please visit Karla’s Lifetime Moms page and read her articles.

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