Audrie Naranjo is a Kinesiology (Sport Management) major & Business minor at San Jose State University. Outside of school, Audrie spends countless hours at the gym where she has found her passion for weightlifting. She is also an Event Ambassador for the MLS Professional team, the San Jose Earthquakes. Additionally, Audrie is a Brand Ambassador for her favorite protein brand, Premier Protein. She aspires to become a sponsored Gymshark athlete, advocate for women in sports, & social media fitness influencer.

Why Are You Afraid?

Author: Audrie Naranjo (San Jose, CA)

From the moment our parents begin to see our potential as innocent, (forgivably) ignorant children, we are consistently told we can do or be anything we’d like. We are encouraged to fearlessly chase our dreams. We are told we can do, be, act, and think limitlessly. As a 20 year old, I now understand this. It is true. You can be whatever you’d like or whatever you ultimately desire. What isn’t mentioned is that pursuing your dreams comes with a cost not many are willing to undergo…

This cost can vary from person to person, but I can only speak on my behalf. Growing up in a small town in the Central Valley of California, everyone knew everyone. To me, this was always an unfortunate circumstance for various reasons: complacency, lack of motivation, & fear of doing something out of the ordinary. When mistakes were made and expectations were not met, there came the undesirable emotions of disappointment. Most do not like to feel it just as much as most do not like to cause it. This feeling of disappointment quickly became a detrimental fear of mine and anytime I messed up, I feared what my parents would say, act, or do (which most of the time was taking away my electronic privileges.) Now, I understand my parents have only ever wanted the best for me & they were in no wrong to have expectations for my sister & I. However, I started to believe that everyone’s opinion (around me) held a similar weight to those of my parents...which made my mental process much more clouded. I became more conscious of what people said about me and although most of the time it was positive, haters are relentlessly omnipresent. Unfortunately, the negative remarks by those people impacted me more than the positive uplifting ones. 

I think I was afraid of my dreams becoming a reality because I simply wasn’t ready for them. I remember sitting in Dr. Williams' office one day and expressing my goals as he asked me, “So would you be ready if you woke up tomorrow and those dreams were now your life?” I don’t think an answer could’ve come faster to me. “No. Absolutely not.” Dr. Williams then questioned why I wasn’t ready for them and I came to the realization that I was scared and afraid to have the life I dreamed of. There was so much more preparation to be done, content to be shared, and I had zero credibility (at that moment) to become the person I aspired to be. I was scared because of what others would think of my dreams and how not having a normal/general profession could be seen as disappointing to my family. There was also the fear of being judged and criticized by my social media followers, but after much digging, tears, self-discovery, frustration, relief, & ultimately making sense of my life/self, I finally understood: you are your own block. Once you understand the depths of your mind and soul, do the heart work, (as someone I know says) and realize what is stopping you, you’re free from anything holding you back. 

It took graduating from high school and moving away to college for me to understand that other people and their negative opinions cannot be granted the power to largely affect anything; dreams, desires, or life. Nobody. Not family, siblings, friends…anyone. This is because of two reasons: 1) we will never be successful in pleasing everyone and 2) personal dreams should only be affected by one’s own work towards them. The reality is, only you have the vision, the map, and the path to personal success. Once we allow other negative opinions to affect us, we’re allowing them the ability to ruin our aspirations, to get us off track, and second guess what we already know. Those comments or opinions may not always be done out of malicious intent, but more so out of the projected uncomfortable fear people have for themselves. None of this should matter to us because our dreams aren’t theirs and their dreams for us, aren’t ours. Truthfully, once the opinions of others are out the window, we become who we are meant to become. We find our reason; we find our why.

Our personal why is powerful beyond measure. It is the fire in our hearts that never seems to dim no matter what storm passes through. It is an emotion that brings inevitable tears to our eyes, especially when it causes our heart to feel like it’s uncontrollably growing at the thought of a dream becoming the reality. Our why is what we would do and dedicate ourselves to if money, benefits, or disappointment were not determining (or, limiting) factors, so we should channel that energy and do what ultimately fulfills our soul.

So…

Once you find your why, go after it, headstrong. Believe in yourself and protect your dream as if it is your most prized possession. Fight for it, pursue it, and don’t stop until you achieve it. Dedicate countless hours, efforts, & tears to your dream. Consistency is where all dreams are brought to life and once you start to see early results, keep going. If people aren’t calling you crazy, obsessed, or insane, you probably aren’t going hard enough. 

So now my question to you is… what is stopping you from making your dreams a reality? Why are you afraid? Don’t respond with a superficial answer like work or school. Dig deeper than you ever have before, answer questions that require much thought and contemplation., and do the hard work along with the heart work. Only you can be truthful with yourself and your capabilities. Ultimately, I’ll leave you with this question; if you woke up tomorrow morning and your dreams were your reality, would you be ready?

Savant’s thoughts:

My good people, this story is as prolific as they come. Honestly, I remember the day that Audrie entered my office for the first time. In true Savant fashion, we sat there for about 4 hours and carefully combed through every aspect of her story. We discussed everything from school and career aspirations to family dynamics and mental health. In the midst of all of that, we spoke in depth about the contents of the article you just read and I feel as if Audrie has encapsulated everything that could be said on the matter.

Many people have a rampant fear of success, oftentimes more-so than the fear of failure. Sometimes we are scared of letting people down, and other times we are scared of letting ourselves down. You’ve all heard me speak about the dangers of imposter syndrome and quite honestly, Audrie shares a poignant example of a time in which she had to get out of her own way in order to make her dreams a reality. Society is designed to challenge everything that we think we know and understand, while also inadvertently existing as a fearful mountain that most of us wouldn’t dare try to climb. Why? Well, the unknown can be scary and should we mess around and fall…the embarrassment of tumbling down a mountain that everyone watches you try to scale would be more than enough for most of us to retreat to the safety of status quo. But…dreams are supposed to be scary. We are supposed to feel uncomfortable. There is joy in leaning into the fear and embracing the growth that comes with changing the way we operate, especially when that shift is going to lead to a more fulfilling day-to-day life. Stop playing it small and allowing people to dictate your trajectory. Take control of your own path forward and walk with the confidence of knowing that whatever comes up, you can handle. Aim for the top. Regardless of the outcome, the growth is always beautiful…and anything beautiful is always worth the risk.

thank you for spending a few moments with us! if you would like to discuss Audrie’s story with her, shoot her a message on Instagram!

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