I thought it was high time to get out my first Leah Rife Photo official blog post! If you couldn’t already tell by my lengthy Instagram captions, I kind of love to write and ramble my thoughts a bit. I’m a lover of words, and I love writing out my thoughts, hopes, encouragements, and dreams.
This year of 2016 has already been one of the most exciting in the books for me and my family. I’ve started calling it my year of bravery. My personality isn’t one that naturally is brave, fearless, and the all-in type, though I dearly love to think so. No, I’m a bit of a cautious girl, especially when it comes to starting new things and trying out things that I could potentially fail at. But this year, I wanted to change that. I wanted to be pushed outside my comfort zone, move into the unknown, grab at new adventures, and make good on those “someday” promises I told myself.
So, after a year of thinking about it, I jumped into launching a photography business, and well, here I am. There was much thought, many tears, lots of “I’ll never be able to do this” and other negative thoughts that like to crush dreams and squish hopes. But there were also a TON of “yes you can” “yes you should” and many, many words of encouragement from friends and family. And guess what? If it wouldn’t have been for the cheer team in my ear drowning out all the thoughts of failure? I wouldn’t be sitting on this couch writing this post out. I wouldn’t have gotten to spend some amazing times with my first clients, or editing some sweet family moments from a shoot a few weeks ago.
Fear of failure is what I struggle with the most. Being confident in myself doesn’t come easy. But the more I push myself outside of my comfort box of safety, the more brave I get each time I have to do something hard. I am here to say that it’s not easy, and I know I will always have room to grow, but I’m proud to be here, and I’m proud of how brave I’ve been this year.
What do you fear? What is holding you back from those dreams and passions that make your heart light up? What is the first step you need to take to make those dreams a reality? Maybe it’s just speaking that dream aloud, either sharing it with someone you trust, or just writing it out so you can see it. Maybe it’s taking the next step to fulfill your dream and going to the next level. Friend, you can DO this! You have the capacity and ability to pull this off. Life wasn’t meant for us to sit back and watch other people fulfill their dreams. Each of us has been given unique and one-of-a-kind gifts and talents that this world absolutely needs to be expressed. You have no idea how many lives you could potentially change if you chase after that dream.
So on those days when the negative thoughts creep in and try to push back, say heck no, and push back even harder. Get out there and make those dreams a reality. This world needs you. Be brave, friend. It’s going to be totally worth it.
-Leah
