I often get asked why I decided to join the Army and I think my answer is fairly simple. I wanted to be a part of something greater than I am. I wanted to be pushed to my limits and I wanted to do something good for my country.

Let’s fast forward seven years….

I am now the Public Relations and Operations gal at a great company. I have some really amazing friends and random activities that further complete me. But all of this has not stopped be from getting worried and often second guessing myself. Do I want to be blogging? Do I tweet to much? Crowds make me nervous…. do I have to do this speaking gig? Am I really doing everything right?

I am not really sure where this fear comes from or why it even started. Maybe the societal pressure to please everyone? I have been freelance writing for Barstool Magazine for YEARS and writing there has never made me nervous at all but for some reason starting this blog was very hard for me. Maybe it is the comments section at the end that would allow people to say to my face what they really thought about my article rather than just mentioning how much it sucked while they flipped pages.

Overcoming

Recently I was reunited with of my old friends from Basic Training and while talking to him about some of these fears, he reminded me that the most important thing in life is for me to be me.

“Maggie you are passionate and strong. People love you for who you are. You don’t need to be anything else and you don’t need to be afraid. You just need to be you. “

This is the man who picked me up when I fell, who pushed me to run harder and faster and who was not surprised when our Drill Sergeants put me in charge of a platoon. He has been on tour in Iraq not once, but twice. He is one of the strongest men I know. I greatly admire him and his respect means a lot to me, so I’ve been thinking a lot about what he had to say.

Am I really being me?

The answer is irrevocably yes. There are certain things I’ve wanted with my life, goals I have set, and I have accomplished those goals and more. So where does my fear come from? Why am I second guessing myself with every blog post? It comes from an obvious lack of confidence in myself.

Starting today, I am going to do everything in my power to channel my “Inner Army Chick” again because I know she is there. I miss the Maggie that could run for hours and who had a quiet confidence that was unwavering. I miss the girl that was terrified of change but who threw all of those fears out of the window to join the Army. I want the Maggie who would charge head first through a bayonet course screaming at the top of her lungs because a Drill Sergeant told her to and who didn’t flinch when this same Drill Sergeant took away her Herbal Essence because it was too “girly.” This girl could climb any obstacle (and did) and “fear” was not a part of her vocabulary.

So which inner “you” should you channel?

My advice is this: find that inner “Confident You” to channel when you start to feel afraid and get channeling WHOMEVER that “Inner You” happens to be. Whether she is your Inner Army chick, your Inner Ninja or your Inner Goddess, I guarantee she is there. She is strong and confident and smart and just waiting for you to tap into her beauty.

I promise that from now on, I will always Channel my Inner Army Chick and I will do so unabashedly.

But what does this look like?

1. I’m going to blog, without fail, once a week. Like anything in life, to be good at something you have to practice. I love writing and I need to do more of it. I only get to flex my creative muscles so much writing about the new Houston “it” bar for barstool!
2. It’s back to a 100 books a week for me! I am a voracious reader. I have been in a bit of a slump and it’s time to get back to reading every night!
3. Army body here I come. I truly believe (and so does this guy) that your brain can only be as fit as your body. I’ve been back to running 25 miles a week for a month now and I feel great. I’m thinking really hard about doing the Peak Condition Project but we will see. I know Gwen loves it!
4. I’m going skydiving. This is where the fearless part comes in!