Past the fear

I like to push the bar every now and again. I like to take myself out of my comfort zone every once in a while just to keep things fresh. Tonight I am about to do that again. I am going to attempt something that I haven't  dared to do (again) in almost 20 years.
In this new adventure I wondered why is it sometimes we quite doing something we enjoy after recieving someones version of honest criticism and other times we just carry on?
Does it depend on how negative the opinions are? Is it our own insecurities? Is it that we then conform our view to then match their opinions? Is it all of these?
I feel perhaps it is all of these factors. When I stopped doing certain things I remember thinking that maybe I do suck, regardless of how many times I was told otherwise. I still have that.
Normally I listen to the criticism and take it at face value. It is only their opinion and if there is something there that I can use to improve what ever it is I am doing then great, if not so what. My day goes on and I continue......Until it is something that I am fired up about. I mean I am eating and dreaming it!!
And maybe that is the lesson.
Their opinion is only that and we are entitled to it, but perhaps we need to learn how to either keep those to ourselves or find gentler ways to present them. Maybe we need to learn not to be so judgemental of others or ourselves. Most of us don't expect perfection from others, so why do we expect it of ourselves?
Mostly I feel we need to show compassion and honor for the bravery of others who can step past the fear and dare to shine and pursue their passions regardless of the opinions of others, for when they do that they do shine! And in that process we all know that it starts within ourselves, now we need to actually walk the talk!
Tonight, as my body is entering a nervous fit and my mind is on overload, I will show myself that compassion and allow myself to break free of the fear and re-enter the one piece of my life that I could not quite stop, because I deserve that. I deserve to be free to do what makes my heart sing...we all deserve to break free of the fear and do what makes us shine with joy.

One Earth.  :)