Delight Ahead Instead of Dread

Sometimes I wonder how much time and energy I have spent over the years trying to AVOID something I perceived to be unpleasant?  What have I lost in life by succumbing to worry or fear, or thinking something was too much work, or impossible to tackle, or too painful to endure?  

For a long season, anything unfamiliar—the UNKNOWN—provoked fear.  Rapid change could easily turn my world upside down and put me into ‘fight or flight’ mode.  Or ’shut down’ mode.

 
My word for it all was DREAD.  To live in dread is to be fearful or reluctant of trying or experiencing something ahead. 

What if I’m making a mistake?  What if I fail? 

I wonder how many GOOD things I missed out on because I was too afraid to TRY, because I dreaded feeling uncomfortable or possibly making a mess of things?  

Sometimes it is difficult to convince ourselves that a major change could be a good thing, especially it it takes a lot of work.  

If we allow ourselves to remain paralyzed by dread and we default to inactivity, we miss out on many of the delightful gifts and pleasures that come from stretching ourselves, allowing transformation, growth, and success.  

More so, we view life through negative lenses, judging all change to be something to be feared instead of eagerly anticipated.

 
A few years ago, I adopted the phrase ‘Delight Ahead instead of Dread”.  I wrote it everywhere and reminded myself on a daily basis, and asked my friends to remind me.  I needed to change my mindset.  

Instead of EXPECTING the worst, why not choose to trust that I can succeed and that God will take care of me?  Why not embrace life to the fullest and give it my very best shot?  What have I got to lose? DREAD!  (I had a lot of dread to lose).  

I discovered that when I began to EXPECT delights to appear on my path, they did!  Wonderful surprising gifts that lit up my life and brought joy that I never would have experienced had I chosen to remain in a position of dread.  

This one little phrase turned my whole life around and gave me courage to hope and try new things, armed with optimism:  “Delight Ahead Instead of Dread.”  

Proclaim it! Declare it! Believe it to be true! And then walk into a land of Delight!

Training our brains to anticipate nothing but positive outcomes regarding whatever change is on the horizon definitely trumps fearing discomfort or negative outcomes.  Trusting in Goodness rather than Failure makes all the difference in the world to raise enough courage to face life.  

No more dread for this gal! 

What might you be dreading that could be turned around-—if you anticipated it to become—a Delight? 

Delight Ahead Instead of Dread—by Merry Burkhalter