Embracing the Unknown: Transforming Fear into Opportunities for Growth

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Are you ready to step out of your comfort zone and into a world of endless possibilities? In our latest episode of "Have a Cup of Johanny," we explore the often daunting yet transformative journey of releasing the fear of the unknown. Join me, Joa, as I share my personal stories of facing the intimidating shadows of uncertainty—from launching new projects to taking the brave step of republishing my work. These moments of dread, although unsettling, have ultimately opened doors to growth and self-discovery. Let’s uncover why our minds are wired to conjure worst-case scenarios and how we can shift our perspective to embrace uncertainty as a playground for expansion and opportunity.

Imagine walking into a dark room, unsure of what lies ahead. Does it invoke fear, or does it spark curiosity? Together, we'll redefine this fear as not a barrier but a gateway to incredible experiences beyond our imagination. By daring to venture beyond the familiar, into the dark spots outside our lighted circle, we activate our potential and step into a dynamic growing and learning zone. As the new year approaches, it’s the perfect time to say goodbye to fear and hello to the uncharted territories that promise magic and transformation. Grab your cup, and let's toast to the adventures waiting in the unknown.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Oh we could, we could fly.
Welcome to this new season ofthe have a Cup of Johani podcast
.
So I want to title this newseason that I'm embarking on
with I'm growing, so this isgoing to be the season of growth
and that's what I'm going toshare with you throughout the

(00:20):
season.
So I thank you for coming overhere and sitting with me and I
hope you enjoy Hola vasitos, andwelcome back to have a Cup of
Johnny podcast.
I am Joa and on this veryspecial day, we are continuing
our Letting Go series with atopic that's both universal and

(00:41):
deeply personal, and that isletting go of the fear of the
unknown.
And let's be honest, steppinginto the unknown can feel
terrifying.
It's like walking into a darkroom without knowing where the
light switch is.
I've been there plenty of times.

(01:02):
Our minds spiral especially ifyou've been watching a lot of
scary movies, like me, andyou're going to be imagining
every possible thing that couldgo wrong.
But here's the thing theunknown is where growth,
transformation and magic happens, and with a new year just

(01:22):
around the corner, there's nobetter time to talk about
releasing that fear andembracing the opportunities that
uncertainty can bring.
So grab your cup, pasitos, andlet's get into how we can start
saying goodbye to fear and sayhello possibility.

(01:45):
Are you ready?
Of course you are.
Why else would you be here?
Let's talk about why the unknownis so scary.
I've been saying this quite along time, but, as humans, we

(02:07):
crave certainty.
Certainty gives us comfort, andwe like that because we know
what's ahead.
Therefore, we're going tosurvive.
We're not going to die of aviolent and unexpected death, so
we like to know what's comingnext, what to expect and how we
can prepare, because we gaincontrol from that.

(02:30):
When we have uncertainty,though, our brains often fill in
the gaps, and they fill it inwith the worst case scenarios,
and not just because I'm a worstcase scenario girly, it happens
to everyone.
It's our survival instinct.
Our minds are trying to protectus from potential harm, but the

(02:51):
truth is, most of the time, theunknown isn't as dangerous as
our fears make it out to be.
In fact, it's often the spacewhere we discover our greatest
potential, because it challengesus to expand.
Think about it Every big change, every new opportunity starts

(03:15):
with stepping into the unknown.
For me, the fear of the unknownhas shown up in so many ways.
Known has shown up in so manyways Starting new projects,
moving to new places, going onanother assignment and even
putting my writing out into theworld, more recently,

(03:36):
republishing the Ordinary Bruja.
Oh my God, you don't understand.
And that's the thing.
No one will see that, becauseall they see is the video that I
posted and the narration that Idid, but they will not see the
uncomfortableness that occurbehind the scene, because I was

(03:57):
so fearful of what would happennext, of the unknown that I
wasn't aware of.
I would ask myself what if Ifail?
What if people don't like it?
What if I regret this decision?
Why, if I regret, likepublishing it?
You know, does that soundfamiliar or is it just me?
You got to tell me.

(04:17):
But if you ever felt this way,once again you are not alone.
But here's the good news,though, and that is that fear
doesn't have to hold you back.
Here's a perspective shift thatchanged everything for me.
Instead of seeing the unknownas a threat, I started seeing it

(04:37):
as an opportunity.
Think about it when we stay inthat comfort zone, we're staying
there, we're limiting ourselves, we're not going anywhere else,
but when we step out of thatcircle into the unknown, we just
expanded our reach.

(04:58):
Now we're in the growing andlearning zone growing and
learning zone and this is wherewe have the possibility of
experiencing things that wenever imagined, because it has
always been out of our reach, aslong as we stay in that lighted
circle kind of like where thespotlight is right.
We know that circle very well.

(05:19):
The spotlight is on it, we knoweverything that is in there.
All around that circle is justdarkness.
The light doesn't reach it, sowe don't know what's over there.
But when we step outside ofthat, sometimes we don't know
that perhaps the spotlight isgoing to follow us, or sometimes

(05:42):
we don't know that perhaps oureyes will get adjusted and then
we will start to be able to seecertain things that are in there
, or that we may be able to geta flashlight, because there's a
flashlight there waiting for us,you see.
But it's like all thesepossibilities that we don't know

(06:05):
anything about but could verywell be on the other side of
that comforting circle thatcould just be super exciting and
could be the catalyst toexpanding our lives, to

(06:30):
expanding our lives.
So I think if we shift ourmindset from the unknown is
scary and is fearful to theunknown is something to embrace,
is something to experience, issomething to investigate.
If you need to like reframe it,to look at it as if you're
investigating something new.
That's a great mindset to haveto be curious about it and

(06:51):
experiment with it, you see,because then that will keep you
away from fear, because nowyou're seeing that not as
something that you should bescared of, but as something that
you can find out more.
So, if you're ready to releasethat fear of the unknown and

(07:12):
come into this new yearconfident, let me tell you some
of the things that I do, withthe caveat that this works for
me and you listen to it and thenyou tailor it to you.
Okay, so the first thing I'mgoing to tell you again is to
acknowledge that you have thefear.

(07:33):
That will always be the firstthing.
Every problem that one has, wehave to identify it first.
We have to identify the rightproblem in order to find the
right solution for that problem,because if we don't, then what
are we solving?
So first I admitted that I wasscared, that that's what I was

(07:56):
feeling.
It was fear of the unknown.
It was fear of what wouldhappen next, because I can't
predict it.
And then I ask myself what am Ireally afraid of?
And one thing that I like to askmyself is what is the worst
case scenario in this one?
What is the worst thing thatcould happen?

(08:17):
And depending on that answer, Isometimes like analyze that and
then tell myself, well, you canhandle that If that is the
worst thing.
If the worst thing is a trolljumping on my comments saying
something stupid, I can handlethat if that's the worst thing.

(08:39):
And if the worst thing issomething else, then I go deeper
into that and see, like, howrealistic is it for that worst
case scenario to happen?
And if it is really realistic,do I have some mitigation in
place to lessen the blow?
But all of this happens withacknowledging that there is a

(08:59):
fear there and then asking thosequestions to myself to dig
deeper into it.
And then from there I go aheadand reframe that and I asked
myself what if this turns outbetter than I imagined?
Because we all know that theunknown is where expansion can

(09:21):
happen, magic can happen, and agood trick that I found in
resiliency training is somethingthat is called, put it in
perspective, pip, and that iswhere you have this fear, this
thing that you're very afraid of, and then you ask yourself what
is the worst, very, very worstcase scenario and what is the

(09:46):
most ridiculous best casescenario?
And then you write those downand then you come to the
conclusion that in reality, whatmost likely would happen is
somewhere in the middle.
And that's how you can putcertain fears in perspective
that you may have.
And at one point, if you do thisoften enough, you may not even

(10:08):
need paper and pen or pencil andpaper to do it, because you can
do that in your brain.
But I always suggest thatpeople write it down because
it's just, it's tangible, it'sin front of you and you can just
look at it and really see foryourself how that fear is not as

(10:29):
big as you have made it out tobe in your mind, have made it
out to be in your mind.
And then after that you takesmall steps so that way you can
move forward, because now youhave found out that you do have
a fear, you have found out thatyou can manage the outcome of

(10:56):
what may happen, or you haveunderstood that it's not so bad
after all, what will reallyhappen, what's more realistic,
and now you can go ahead andmake those steps.
Now I can go ahead and startgoing on Canva and putting
together the first scene for theordinary bruja.
And then after that and I gointo the next step, I focus on
what I can control.

(11:16):
And when you have stepped intothe unknown and embrace it and
made those steps into that darkplace that you didn't know
anything about, you got tocelebrate, you got to take into
consideration that you actedbravely.

(11:40):
You step into the unknown, youacknowledge your fear, you
assessed it, you assess what mayhave happened, you made some
mitigation strategies.
Or you say you assess what mayhave happened, you made some
mitigation strategies, or yousay you know what I can handle,

(12:01):
that it's not so bad.
You went ahead and made thefirst step, you made that goal
happen and of course now you gotto celebrate and that will keep
you going.
But letting go of fear of theunknown isn't about erasing your
fear.

(12:21):
Nothing in here is going totake that away.
Nothing, nothing, nothing atall.
But it's about moving forwardwith it.
I will always be fearful ofwhat would happen next, of what
I have no control over, but it'sabout trusting myself that even

(12:43):
if things don't go as planned,I'll figure it out, just like
I've done it before.
That's why I always say like,I'll figure it out and I'll do
it again.
And once again, if I make amistake, I learn from it.
It won't be the end of theworld, but remember the unknown

(13:04):
is where the magic happens.
It's where you're going to findyour strength, your courage and
your next adventure.
So, vacitos, as we approach thenew year, I encourage you to
reflect on where the fear of theunknown might be holding you
back.
Look into it, ask yourselfwhat's one step you can take to

(13:25):
move forward.
And thank you for joining metoday on this episode of have a
Cup of Johnny podcast.
And if this resonated with you,share it with someone who might
need a little extra courage asthey step into the new year.
Don't forget to subscribe formore episodes to help you let go
of what's holding you back andembrace what's ahead.

(13:45):
And until next time I thinkwe're going to see each other in
the new years, but until then,embrace the unknown and remember
you are way braver than youthink.
Talk to you next time.
Bye, thank you so much forlistening.

(14:06):
I want to hear from you.
Leave me a comment, do a ratingif you can on the podcast.
Share it with somebody you love, but most importantly, come
back.
See you next time.
Bye.