our favourite piece of advice.

We all have one piece of advice that has stuck with us our whole lives. It could be something simple, like remembering to treat people how you would like to be treated. It could be something ridiculous - like never eat yellow snow. Although that is one piece of advice we do recommend you listen to.

For us at bridgers, one piece of advice stands out more than the rest. It was heard in passing a long time ago and always seemed to come back up when needed. Eventually, Nic took it as a sign that maybe there was something in this advice.

I’ll cut to the chase. The advice that has stuck with us for years, and that has driven us to continue moving forward, is:

Feel the feel and do it anyway.

There are a few reasons we love this saying so much. Firstly, it sums up so easily what needs to be said when trying something new. It’s no secret that running a business is a new adventure for Ella and Nic. It also isn’t a secret that starting a business can be scary for anyone.

However, the beauty in this expression is that it is okay to be afraid of starting something new. Starting something new is scary. And being scared, or feeling fear, is a perfectly natural response. Fear comes from your body trying to protect you. Sometimes though, you know better than your body. You know that this scary new thing you’re about to do (whether it’s starting a business, buying a home, or starting a new hobby) will be good for you in the long run.

So, let yourself feel that fear. Let the fear push you. Understand that that fear you feel is telling you that you’re about to step out of your comfort zone. And that is exactly where you want to be. Nothing is going to change in your comfort zone. We were built to outgrow our comfort zones and seek out the next step in life.

Be afraid of starting something new, but use it as fuel to push you through. Allow that fear to transform into adrenaline or excitement and take a risk on yourself.

Accept that you are doing something new and recognise that fear for what it is. Bravery. There is nothing braver than feeling fear at something new, and still continuing on.

Susan Jeffers (the brilliant mind behind Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway) also goes on to say, “The more you do something you fear, the less fearsome it becomes”. By feeling the fear and still doing it, you take control of what scares you and you take ownership of your life and your decisions.

All this is to say - if you want to do something but you’re scared, don’t let that stop you.

At bridgers, the thought of going all in on our new dream was a scary one, and not one that we took lightly. However, we knew that despite the fact we were both scared this was the right thing for us to do. We had an idea that we were beyond passionate about, and we both trusted each other and ourselves enough to take the risk on ourselves. With this decision came a lot of change, but I’ll let Ella tell you all about that in her blog post.

If you have a dream or goal or even an idea that you want to do but you’re letting fear get in the way - we can’t recommend enough using the mantra, “feel the fear and do it anyway”.

Do it - after all, the worst thing that happens is you end up where you are now.