Today I was serologically tested for COVID-19.
No symptoms, probably neither positive now or in the past, nothing but because I need it for work travel.
Strange world, huh?! It’s 2020, you’re planning some trips to weird locations, and a global pandemic hits the world, with more than 26 million cases as per today.
We will see the results in the next days, hoping for the good. But let’s continue with the story.
While getting back home, I had the time to think about the blood draw.
I always feared the venipuncture due to a trauma I experienced when I was a kid (thanks, nurse). But I grew old, and I now know it’s such a slight pain that I don’t bias myself anymore.
When you enter the clinic, they ask you to compile some privacy modules.
They then call you to go to the room where the attendant will take your blood, so you sit on the chair and start replying to other questions.
Meanwhile, they clean the venipuncture site, apply the tourniquet, making you feel the pressure on your arm, open the butterfly needle, and insert it inside your vein.
Ouch! It’s like someone pinched you.
You still realize what is happening that they already collected two vacutainer bottles and applied the cotton wool.
You can go, it’s finished.
Was the fear justified? Well, not enough.
It is good to have some, but not as much as to hold you back. And this is true in every aspect of life.
It took me a shallow effort in the face of more significant benefits, like being tested for Coronavirus disease, forced my body to regenerate the blood loss (it helps to reduce sugars and fats), and exit the comfort zone once again.
Like any other useful thing we may do, the secret is to do it.
Easy to say in my case, right?
Well, we can associate this with habits, personal projects, business, or whatever. We dream of doing something, but we never start.
What I described earlier connects intrinsically to this blog creation and my writing commitment.
I started this blog by following what my gut was telling me. It wasn’t a project I was thinking of creating, nor did I have a plan, but I had the idea and the time, so why not do it?
Was I afraid of what people may think about me? Or was it more comfortable not to start at all?
The lesson I grabbed here is: it doesn’t make sense to wait and wonder what will happen in the next future.
What we keep saying to ourselves is only BS. Full stop.
When I left my old employee job, before finding an alternative, it was the same. Indeed I do not fear the job leap anymore now, and I also advise my friends to pursue new opportunities.
Yes, perfectionism is still an issue for me, but this is what is all about.
Just. Take. The. Leap.
Will it be hard? Yes, it certainly will.
Don’t let your fear control you. Start, have faith, and something good will happen along the way.
As Michael Jordan once said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take“.
Let me know if you have any feedback; I’ll be eager to look into it!