Always Do What you are Afraid to Do - My Speech

 This was a speech I gave at a pre-Convention rally in April 2012.

Once upon a time there were two sheep that lived on the Hill of Left.  From the Hill of Left they could see the luscious, green grass of the Hill of Right.  Both sheep wanted so badly to be on the other hill that it was all they ever dreamt or talked about.  There was one obstacle that was stopping them from achieving their dream.  The only way to get to the great Hill of Right was across a sturdy bridge that spanned a 1000 foot drop!  The two sheep were so afraid of heights that they never attempted the short, easy walk across the bridge to the Hill of Right.  Instead they stayed on the Hill of Left, talking and dreaming about the Hill of Right, until the day they died.

The reason why these two sheep never achieved their dream was because they never faced their fears.

And that is what I am going to talk about today: The importance of facing your fears.

We all have fears.  For some people it might be a fear of heights, fear of what people might think of you or fear of looking dumb in front of your peers.  My two top fears were and still are:  public speaking and singing in front of people.  I was scared stiff about public speaking that even when it came to putting an idea forward in front of a group I felt nervous.  As for singing in front of others, I wouldn’t even sing in my bedroom for fear that someone might hear me.

So when it came to doing the A.C.E Convention (a place where A.C.E students come together and compete in different categories) I was not overly keen to participate.  To motivate me, my loving mother gave me a list of the things that you could do at Convention. And this is how I read it:

Dramatic Dialogue – No

One-Act-Play – No

Male Poetry Recitation - No

No, no, no, no, no,

Group Bible speaking?  What on earth is that?

Choir – No

Male Vocal Solo – not in a million Years!!!

Well Convention is obviously not for me.                         

But Mum did what any caring mother would do when they see something that will benefit their child but the child does not want to do it.  She forced me to do it.  Mum told me that I had to perform one solo act at Convention.  After much debate with me explaining how I would probably faint because of stage fight I finally decided to do an instrumental solo with my Celtic Whistle.  At least I wouldn’t have to talk, just breathe into a pipe. 

After two months of practising my ‘pipe breathing’ the dreaded time came.  I made my way to the ‘stage of death’.  Knees knocking, hands sweating, every fibre in my body screamed for me to turn and run away from my impending doom.   Somehow I forced myself up onto the platform.  I introduced myself, started playing and it was then that I noticed something strange.  Playing my song there up on stage really wasn’t that bad.  I was like one of the sheep who had made the journey from Hill of Left to the Hill of Right.  I had overcome one of my greatest fears.  Plus I had just uncovered the secret facing your fears.  What is this secret?  Well Ralph Waldo Emerson a famous writer and lecturer in the 19^th century puts it like this:

“It was high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, 'always do what you are afraid to do’.”

Always do what you are afraid to do.

This doesn’t mean that you should try jumping off a 100m cliff or swim in shark infested waters.  Some fears are healthy!  But what it does mean is that you should always do that thing that scares you if it is either beneficial for you or other people.  For example, this year I will be performing a Male Vocal Solo at Convention.

I will be scared but I know I can do it because God is with me.  I know this because He says so, in Deuteronomy 31:6

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Do you truly believe that?  If so, then always do what you are afraid to do.  I promise you that if you follow these words you will have a very successful, fulfilling life where God can always use you.

In closing I would like to say that Courage is not the lack of fear but the ability to face it.

So, fellow student let us fulfil His Commandment, let us strong and courageous for God!