The Shrinking Monster

The monster is always biggest in the dark.

The monster is always biggest in the dark.

Before you turn on the light. Before you open the closet door. Before you look under the bed.

It's the same with everything that scares us.

The phone call you need to make looms larger at 3 AM than it does when you're dialing.

The presentation you're dreading feels impossible until you click "start recording."

The difficult conversation with your boss seems insurmountable until you knock on their door.

Here's what happens: Inaction feeds fear. Action starves it.

When you're stuck in the planning phase, your brain has nothing to do except imagine disasters. It's like a bored child, making up increasingly dramatic stories about what might go wrong.

But the moment you take the first step, any step. Something shifts.

You're no longer a victim of circumstances. You're a participant.

You're no longer imagining outcomes. You're influencing them.

The entrepreneur who spent months worrying about launching discovers that real customers have different problems than the ones she had imagined.

The writer who agonized over starting his book finds that the first chapter writes itself once he sits down.

The job seeker who rehearsed rejection speeches gets three interview requests in one week.

The gap between imagination and reality is where fear lives.

Action closes that gap.

This doesn't mean the challenges disappear. But they shrink from movie monsters to manageable problems.

Problems you can solve. Challenges you can face. Obstacles you can navigate.

Because now you're doing something about it.

What's been living rent-free in your head, growing bigger each day you delay?

What would shrink if you just took the first step today?

~ aq