The Journey Continues {Getting Cozy With Fear}

July 26, 2016

The Journey Continues {Getting Cozy With Fear}

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHbeRo_BWDI/?taken-by=tyswint_thelovechannel

This is going to be a long one, so you may want to grab a cup of coffee, a glass of wine perhaps or your favorite beverage of choice. :)

I recently moved to Nashville, 25 days ago as of this post to be exact. It has been a beautiful experience, but definitely with some challenges. The fear of starting over in so many different areas of my life has been a bit challenging. I had to face that challenge indirectly when my car broke down on me only days after being in Nashville and after starting a new job. I beat myself up for going to a comfort zone which was depending on my ex to help me through the process. While sharing this with a friend, she immediately and sweetly suggested that I make a list of all of the things that I had done in my short time in Nashville, giving myself credit for those things versus beating myself up for the one thing I felt I had not done well. She went on to suggest that I give myself a break because change can be extremely difficult, and she reassured me that going to my comfort zone was not a bad thing and actually a normal response. Her beautiful words of comfort made me think, "Exactly Ty. You have done really well in your first few days in a new city and away from the comforts of your home, your husband and what you have known for half of your life. Give yourself a break." So I did. I also thought of some of the cool things that have happened and that I have accomplished so far this year as it pertains to my goals for The Love Channel with Ty Swint. Thinking as my friend had suggested to give myself credit for what I had achieved instead of what I had not, I went through some highlights and goals accomplished for the blog. I took comfort in my achievements, reviewed my goals for this year and fine tuned them to help me propel forward toward achieving more goals.

My friend's suggestion really helped. I listed what I had accomplished during my short time in Nashville, listing both big and small achievements in my journal and I also did a photo collage to help me visualize and take joy in my accomplishments for a post on Facebook. I did the same in my journal for the goals reached for The Love Channel with Ty Swint and I've shared them below.

So back to this fear thing. I had one rough evening triggered by fears of "what if" this or that does not happen. What if I fail in my endeavors so near and dear to my heart? What if I don't find the {romantic} love, I, the hopeful romantic❤ desire and quiet honestly feel I deserve? I shared this with another dear friend of mine and she suggested that I first figure out what caused my fears. She shared that fears typically have triggers. I thought about it and it tremendously helped. She comforted me in reminding me that fear does not always mean that something is wrong. It is a natural part of the process and sometimes the larger the fear, the more you know you are going in the right direction. "Make friends with it." She told me. "Have fear for breakfast, fear for dinner. Then learn how to be still with it, sit with it until your peace becomes larger than the fear." I immediately felt a thousand times better. I never thought about getting cozy with fear. And amazingly to me, so far so good. Having my fear for breakfast, lunch and dinner is really bringing about a calm and peace along with the beautiful and enlightening feeling that, "Ty you can do this." I started to think about all that I had done amidst so much tragic loss since 2013. How I moved in and acted in love during times that I received no compassion. I reminded myself again, "Ty you can do this."

One area that I am so happy to be growing in is getting more comfortable with my singing voice. I can not say that I've overcome the fear of singing and sharing my voice, however I have made some really good steps toward beating that fear. Recently I shared seven songs that I have been working on for some time now and I asked friends and followers to help me narrow the song choices down to two. Everyone was so amazing with their feedback. It really gave me a lot to work with and to consider. One friend stated that it seemed like I was holding back. I can see that. I'm so excited to improve and to share the outcome of the two songs that received the most responses. I think getting cozy with my fear and thinking back to the reasons why I have been so shy with sharing my voice is helping me a lot.

The next fear I want to tackle is moving my blog from hobby to career along with becoming a strong, female entrepreneur. I absolutely love, LOVE, The Love Channel with Ty Swint. It gives me so much joy to share my journey as an aspiring singer and songwriter with you. It is not a perfect journey as I am learning, growing and sharing as I go. I think back to the original tagline for The Love Channel with Ty Swint and in my heart I truly hope this blog and my journey inspires life and inspires love.

With all of that said, I'm going to take a week off to regroup and to focus a bit on the business side of the blog. I'll use this time to get to know what it takes to properly have a business in Tennessee. I'm reading all of those super fun blog laws. Woot! Woot! I'm not really excited about this part. I'm being silly, but hey, gotta get er done. I'm also meeting with other bloggers to discuss the business of blogging along with attending some online courses. I'm tightening up my press kit, sponsor contracts and more. Sounds like fun right?

I look forward to getting back to the blog next Tuesday, August 2, sharing some new posts and more. In the meantime, I would love for you to come by as often as you think about The Love Channel with Ty Swint. It would be of great help so my numbers do not become too low. And also sharing any of the post that you have enjoyed on The Love Channel with Ty Swint with friends and via social media would also be of great help.

Thank you all so much for joining me on this journey. I appreciate each and every one of you so much. I hope my friends loving words helps you if you're facing or ever find yourself in a place where you need to face your fears. I look forward to getting back to posting next Tuesday, August 2 and sharing with you more of the beautiful city of Nashville; its music, fashion, food, people and places.

Below is a look at some of the exciting things that have happened so far this year on The Love Channel with Ty Swint. Feel free to share the posts below with friends, stay tuned for more and follow The Love Channel with Ty Swint on:
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