Fear

Don't Give Fear Power Over Your Life

Ever since I can remember, I've loved reading and writing and while most kids would rather be sitting in front of a TV screen, or outside enjoying the summer day, I would be inside of my home curled up with my Babysitter's Club books. I still own over 50 of those "chapter books" as I used to call them, and while Ann M. Martin has written well over 200 installments into the series, I considered myself a Babysitter's Club guru! As a child I used to carouse the library shelves, and book store shelves trying to find the next book, and though I never could get my hands on all of them, I found other authors that filled the void.

As I grew older, more in my upper teen years, I got into reading other books, which were much more Rated R than the books Ann M. Martin published. One of my favorite novels is still Addicted by Zane, and through my shocking first encounter with erotica literature, I found a story of love that touched my heart, and made me want to capture my own story which lived in my heart. My excuse back then was that I wasn’t old enough, or wise enough to effectively portray a love story that would stir the reader’s emotions, and make them identify with the characters as though they were reading their own stories off of the pages.

Then I got ahold of The Coldest Winter Ever, and my urge to write a novel was too big to even contain. I certainly started the story, had likeable characters, and maybe even an interesting plot, but when I hit the first brick wall in my plot, it shattered me in a million pieces causing me to abandon the story and stick to reading. I was under the impression that it took something that I didn’t have to be able to complete a novel. It was obvious that at around age 16 or 17, I thought that I wasn’t yet a strong enough fighter to overcome small issues such as plot ends and overcoming character flaws, but I was wrong. I’ve always been strong enough to overcome every issue in and outside of writing, but FEAR kept me from doing so. Nobody likes to look back at their life, and realize that fear was the reason they didn’t go forward with a goal or a dream. I told myself so many times that the reason I couldn’t tread through a novel idea was because I wasn’t wise enough, and I believed myself.

Then, life pushed me out of my comfort zone, I grew up a little bit, and got a little bit more wise. Not the wisdom I thought I needed in order to write my first novel, but more so the wisdom that allowed me to see that I was fooling myself. I was lying to myself to compensate for a fear that I should’ve been trying to push through. The bible says “The Lord is on my side. I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 118:6) I apply this verse to everything that I approach in life that I believe is too big for me to defeat. When God is on my side, I shouldn’t dare feel like anything is too great for me.

So October 2013, I started writing my first book which I entitled My Yesterday’s. I started this book in the thick of the fall semester while I was going to school full time, working 35 hours + at a job, and dealing with all of the emotional issues that came along with being so busy. I finished this book in just 2 short months and published it January 1, 2014. Since then, I have written two other books, (one of them hasn’t been published yet) and I am halfway through my fourth novel, and while the financial success hasn’t quite caught up with the emotional success, I have realized that fear is a debilitating handicapped that the Devil uses to trick us.

Whatever your goal is in life, don’t let fear hold you back. Sometimes fear is disguised by things like: no money, no time, and no support. Really sacrifice the time to think about why you aren’t doing what it is that you think you should be doing with your life, and whenever an “excuse” pops up, attack it like it’s your worst enemy. I know its cliché when you hear the words “You Can Do It” but believing is the first step, and action is the second step.

I’m glad to say that I no longer allow fear to stop me from achieving any goal that ignites my passion to the point where I just “gotta do it” J so identify your fears, attack them like their your enemies, and rise to the top before you even realize where you’re going!

Good luck & God Bless,

Author Dechella Taylor