There’s something about being under water that makes me forget the craziness of the world. It’s peaceful and it brings me the calm I need in a world of rushing around and information overload.

I should probably add that I can’t actually swim and I have an intense fear of the water so when people hear that I scuba dive they usually stare at me with a very perplexed look. However, once I get past my fears it’s a new world that allows me to unwind and see things from a completely different view. Scuba diving has really helped me conquer my great fear of the water but I have to be honest, it took me a few times to finally feel like this was something I wanted to continue to do. In fact, the first time I attempted to dive, I felt like I was hyperventilating and the instructor had to pull me back up to the boat. I wanted to give up at that point and I remember blurting out “I’m done. I don’t want to do that ever again.”

I’m thankful to this day that the instructor helped me calm down and didn’t allow me to give in to fears so easily. Instead, he realized that my fear was the rough current on the surface so he instructed me to sink to the bottom immediately upon entering the water and wait for him. As I sat in stillness while I waited, I experienced a moment of intense peace and I realized my fear had been holding me back from living a life of fullness.

[ctt template=”1″ link=”SB9nY” via=”no” ]It’s the times we conquer what we fear most that allows us to expand beyond a life we are simply settling for and a life that we truly love.[/ctt]

One of the most memorable experiences I’ve ever had in my life was a night dive in Roatan, Honduras. It was pitch black out and we all turned off our lights so we could experience the bioluminescence phenomenon called “string of pearls”. This is the mating display of ostracods which are tiny organisms about the size of a small seed. As the male ostracods make their way through the reefs, they release a glowing chain of luminescent chemicals that resembles a string of Christmas lights. The males emit a chemical in a pattern that, like a Morse code, helps females identify potential mates.

These tiny organisms twinkled and glowed all around me. I felt like I was part of the starry night sky, floating weightlessly, and I can only imagine it is as close to what it feels like to be in outer space. Swimming slowly and moving gently activated even more bioluminescence, allowing sparks to fly from my finger tips and from every part of me that was moving. I’m thankful I was on air on because it literally took my breath away. It was so profound it still takes my breath away just thinking about it to this day. My heart is even beating a little faster as I’m writing about it.

It was such an intense and amazing moment in my life that I found myself thinking that if I hadn’t fought my fears I would have never had this once in a lifetime experience.

[ctt template=”1″ link=”f2TeV” via=”no” ]I believe in pushing yourself past your fears, to allow the kind of growth that can only come from facing the uncertainty of the unknown.[/ctt]

If something is holding you back, don’t be afraid to vocalize your fear and allow others to work you through it. Fear is natural but it doesn’t have to debilitate you. Whatever you do, do it safely but allow yourself to experience something new because you never know what you would be missing.

I’d love to know what you’ve pushed yourself to do, even when you had great fear over doing it.

Write it in the comments below and be an inspiration to everyone!