This is Kelly Knight’s first dahlia.
One of the best things about poking around on Go Mighty is seeing the patterns emerge. Right now, the site feels like a big “Why don’t we?”
– Dance
– Grow flowers or just keep plants alive
– Do something grand
And a whole lot of us would like to conquer a fear. Over the years, I’ve learned that using my list to conquer fears has one of the biggest impacts on my life. It’s surprising how much brain space fear reserves, maybe because of the energy we spend in avoiding thinking about the things that scare us.
In considering what I’m still afraid of, I realized I have a ludicrous, palm-sweaty fear of the group sports I played in Jr. High. I’ve joked about this before, but damn, you guys. Volleyball, dodgeball, kickball? How do I still get cold sweats thinking about doing these things as a grownup?
I think I always just thought I’d get over these things, but they seem to linger until I take active steps to shake them. Which frankly, sounds like the worst.
How about you? What scares you as a grown up? Any fears you expected to have “gotten over” by now?
Go Mighty is a Life List community for doers. Join in, why don’t you?
Mighty Girl 
Well, my fear related to group sports is less about the sport itself and more about the other meanies playing.
On a related note, I’m afraid of rejection and people’s perceptions of the things that I hold most dear to who I am. I was a closeted artist and, as an adult, I would never enter shows or let anyone see any of my work because if they rejected it, they would be rejecting the thing that I see as most important to my identity.
I turned 30 in December and I decided that enough is enough. I made a website for my work and I have entered 4 shows so far. Take that, meanies!
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spiders. For real yo. I will jump to the ceiling. But strangely, snakes do NOT freak me out.
And also – tornadoes. I grew up in an area where they were fairly common, so the rest of my family has a laissez-faire attitude about it. Me – GET IN THE BASEMENT NOW YOU CRAZY PEOPLE!
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Yes. Adults who join kickball leagues for fun astound me.
I’m a kindergarten teacher, and the longer it’s my job to spend time thinking about how to help little kids understand what math is, the more I realize that my palm-sweaty fears about math just didn’t have to happen. It was circumstantial. Sadly, I can point directly to areas in my adult life where fearing math has held me back. Making friends with math is something I’d like to take on.
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@Vicky It’s funny how long it can take to put those things together. Going from, “I’m just shy about my art” to “I will die inside if you don’t like my art because it is me in object form.” Do you have a link where we can see it?
@Nicole Snakes. I forgot about snakes. And tornadoes. But I do have the same whatevs attitude about earthquakes.
@a I always thought I was bad at math, but I don’t think that’s the case. I think sometimes we advance kids beyond their physical ability to understand the concepts. Like my brain was developed enough for algebra.
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Gulp!
My website is http://www.studio9201.com – it’s my art and sometimes I post some things from Instagram that I see around Washington, D.C. and in my travels.
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@vicky Whoa! It’s really good. I can see the arc. I was thinking “Why no hands? You can totally draw hands.” And then I saw your clasped hands watercolor. _Nice._ Are you teaching yourself or taking classes?
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Whew! Thanks!
I took classes when I was a kid and then I had a long hiatus in college and for years after. Recently, I have been going to a weekly open drawing group with no instruction but dedicated time and a cheap model fee.
Practice! Practice! Right?
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Hey, Vicky. I dig your art.
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@amber Thank you!!
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Re: math – I totally agree with Maggie. Human brains develop differently in each individual, and some of us are prepared for grasping different skills/topics at different times. Part of the reason I’m actually considering homeschooling our kid…
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@Vicky That’s how Lisa Congdon did it.
@Nicole In grade school, I went to a public school where parents volunteered time, so we had 5 or six math classes. It was awesome.
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I’ve thought about making a list of my fears as a first step in conquering them….but I’m afraid to.
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