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100 Days Without Fear

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(CNN) – From the time she was a little girl, Michelle Poler was afraid of the world. She avoided big, playful dogs, scared they might bite her. Terrified of pain, she dreaded doctor's appointments. She missed dinner parties that required her to drive at night.

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Michelle

New York City is definitely not for the fearful. After moving here I realized I needed to do something about it. So in efforts to become a braver person I embarked on a project where I faced 100 fears in 100 days. What I didn't expect was to inspire thousands along the way. 

I'm now super fortunate to have the opportunity to travel the world speaking at schools, companies and organizations on how to embrace the unknown and live a life beyond the comfort zone. 

If it’s not at an airport, you can also find me on YouTube posting weekly videos or uploading stories of courage from everyday people to HelloFears.com. Check it out!

Featured
Day 100: Inspire others at TEDxHouston
Day 100: Inspire others at TEDxHouston
Day 96: Age
Day 96: Age
Day 89: Stand Up
Day 89: Stand Up
Day 85: Surf
Day 85: Surf
Day 80: Teach
Day 80: Teach
Day 78: Paint
Day 78: Paint
Day 77: Pose
Day 77: Pose
Day 72: Embrace
Day 72: Embrace
Day 65: Jump
Day 65: Jump
Day 59: Quit
Day 59: Quit

Click here to see the full list of fears

Day 36: Curry on

May 13, 2015

What's the challenge?

To try a new kind of food.

What are you afraid of?

I'm afraid of the unkown.

How was the experience?

I went by myself to this Indian chain (Indikitch) near my office even though a couple of people already told me not to go since they thought it was pretty spicy. I decided not to listen and judge it myself. I didn't know what to order, so I just told the waiter to give me whatever as long as it wasn't spicy. I first tried the red lemonade with mint leaves and it was delicious. Then, I tried the bowl of rice and chicken that was even more delicious and to finish up, I tried "naan," their kind of pita bread with garlic and it was out of this world. I think I love Indian food now. 

← Day 37: Be proudDay 35: Present →

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Thank you!

Why Fear?

A couple of reasons I wrote just to remind myself why am I doing this:

  • Fear keeps me from enjoying life

  • Fear will keep me from achieving success

  • I want to live courageously

  • Life starts at the end of your comfort zone

  • What doesn't kill you makes you stronger

  • NYC is not made for the fearful

  • Fear just doesn't make sense

  • If I don't do it now, then, when?

Instagram: @100dayswithoutfear

TGIF: Thank God I’m Female. What does that mean to you today? . That is the question I asked these girls at a camp I was invited to speak last weekend. It was my first time having a real, unscripted, and unfiltered session with a group of teenagers about relevant topics. . We talked about feminism. The things that make us proud, the things that bother us and what we can do about them. Here are some of the things that were brought up by the girls: . 1. We have to embrace and celebrate our differences instead of looking to just be equal . 2. Do things because we can or want, not because we’re supposed to . 3. Feminism and Equality should not be something to be discussed just by women. The importance of making everybody part of the conversation: girls, dads, teachers, uncles, brothers.... . 4. Being a feminist without stepping over others . 5. Women shouldn’t be stereotyped. Neither should Men . 6. Women need to respect other women before we can ask for respect from men . 7. Why should women be Mrs somebody else? Why should we change our last name?? . These are some of the calls-to-action we highlighted: ⭐ It’s our duty to teach our parents/grandparents about equality when they push us to fit a certain stereotype. Things have changed. ⭐ Lets not only demand equality, lets have the courage to behave equal. Why wait for the man to propose? ⭐ Lets encourage men who support women to speak up, call out other men, be brave to speak on our behalf. ⭐ If you dont like boys criticizing girls for their appearance, as a girl, don’t criticize other girls for their appearance ⭐ Speak up when others tell you how you should look, feel or behave as a woman. Let’s educate those who think have a saying over our bodies and minds #calladitanomore ⭐ Finally, lets have more healthy discussions like this one 🙏🏻 . What does TGIF means to you?? . Thank you @countmeinsummit for this empowering opportunity. If you are in school and are looking for a leadership camp that prioritizes inclusion and equality check out Count Me In Summit #cmisummit2018 #hellofears #feminism #equality #bravegirlsdoitbest #bgdib
We can all be more intelligent, more interesting, more insightful, more intuitive, healthier, kinder, happier... . If you have a a growth mindset you know that it is a matter of working on it to achieve it. . Sometimes a book, a movie, a quote, a talk, or even a song can help us become better people. . For the next 30 days I will give out 30 recos of different things that have helped me become a better version of myself. . Why? I turn 30 in 30 days and 1 thing I’ve discovered in these 29 years is that the best gift is the gift of giving ✨🙏🏻 . Go to my story for the first reco! It’s a movie I don’t recommend watching on a plane 😢♥️✨ . What is a book, a documentary, a show, a performance, an article, a podcast, a talk, a brand or a person you think I should highlight? Anything that can make us better. Let me know ⤵️!! #courageis #growthmindset #hellofears #30before30
Guys I forgot to post a #FridayChallenge 😱 — I was at a camp, is that a valid excuse? . Can we do a #SundayChallenge instead? Yay!!! Ok: . Let’s practice some gratitud today. I want you to think about one person who inspired you to do something and has no idea the impact he or she had on your life. Maybe it was a school teacher, a friend, an aunt, a coach, a therapist, an instagram account. Whatever it is, I challenge you to let that person know about what she/he did and how grateful you are for that. You may tag them here or write them a text! . On my last post I received over 100 comments of you guys telling me the things I inspired you to do, and I’m still smiling because of that. Let’s cheer up someone today with our words of gratitud. You have no idea the impact you can have on that person just by doing that. . Today I’d like to thank my English teacher from when I was a little girl. She specialized on accent, so thanks to her today I feel confident as a speaker on the stage 🙏🏻✨ — I will try to find her on Facebook and let her know the great impact she had on my life. . Image borrowed from @theharmonytribe
My face when I hear someone got inspired enough to face a fear of their own. That’s when I know I did a good job 👏🏻 Share with me a fear I inspired you to face - even if it’s a tiny one ♥️🙏🏻 #everyfearcounts #hellofears
Empathy on Mother’s Day 🌻 . By @bymariandrew
#FridayChallenge . Remember when Instagram was exciting and we decided to follow everyone and everything? We didn’t want to miss out so we followed like there’s no tomorrow #fomo . Now, our feeds are full of uninspiring material and “perfect” looking lives that make us feel as if we’re not as happy or as accomplished as others. . My challenge for you today is to give yourself 10 minutes now to unfollow 5 instagram accounts that don’t really add value to your life, or even worse, make you feel bad about it. Let’s tailor our insta feeds so they only bring us positive thoughts, knowledge, inspiration and love #unfollowfriday . If you want to unfollow my @michellepoler account where I continually show beautiful destinations and delicious food, I don’t blame you 😂! (But don’t!) . Challenge #2: Think to yourself if your account is adding value to others’ lives and what can you do to be more relatable or real about who you really are. Dare to share your challenges and dreams as much as your successes 🙌🏼✨ #hellofears #fomonomo
Tonight I delivered one of the hardest presentations I’ve ever done. There were about 5,000 students in the audience and I’m still on a high from that experience. Whoa. . Today was challenging on SO many levels. But rewarding on so many more. I go to bed knowing that thousands of students are now considering choosing GROWTH over comfort, understand the value in being BRAVE over fearless and have the will to create their OWN set of boxes over society’s. THAT is how I measure success. Hoping to hear many courageous stories from this audience soon ☺️. . Now, going to bed, I need to wake up in 4 hours!!! Much love to y’all! #texas #DREAMBIGGER #speaker #courageis #hellofears #BPA
Charlie Rose face her fear of telling the world he.. is a she 👀. Read her story at hellofears.com — it’s heartbreaking and empowering at the same time 🙏🏻♥️ . “I had freakouts about ordering women’s clothes from Amazon. Would the mailman know? What would he/she think? Could I get the package before anyone I live with sees it? There were freakouts about wearing the clothes alone and under my normal clothes.” - CR . To access the article swipe up on my insta story 👆🏼 and let me know if it was worth reading 🙏🏻✨ #courageis #hellofears #storiesofcourage #motivation #brave #inspiring #lgbt #transgender #pride #gender #genderreveal
PUBLIC SPEAKING TIP #2: _ As a female speaker, taking up space is a challenge. We’ve been taught to be delicate, cute and careful 🙇🏼‍♀️. But when speaking, the highest rated TEDx Talks also happened to have the most amount of hand gestures — according to researcher @vvanedwards . Ever since I learned that, I started incorporating hand gestures into my presentations. I use my 👋🏼 to illustrate what I’m saying. Most gestures I use are intentional 🙏🏻 and I’ve practiced them hundreds of times. I even use them to remember parts of my talk . Now, my challenge is not only to incorporate hand gestures but to also take up MORE space: 🦅 open my arms more 🦋 move around freely 🦍exaggerate some moves, and maybe even 🐇 jump up and down, if necessary . Tomorrow I’ll be speaking in front of 5,000 students and I’ve been practicing all week my taking-up-space-technique🕺🏽— I may or may not share a few shots from tomorrow’s talk to show you how I did! . Let me know if this #publicspeakingtip was helpful and if I should continue giving advice on this matter! ♥️ Also, do you have a tip for speaking in front of 5,000 high school students?? 😱 _ Image by @girlpowersupply — #takeupspace #hellofears #publicspeaking #advice #motivation #speaker #tedx @hellofears
What is loving yourself? Are we supposed to love our bodies when they are out of shape? Our hair when it’s damaged? Our skin when it’s cracked? This “self-acceptance” movement had me confused. . I’ve been NOT loving myself for the past couple of months (for many reasons). I realized I was hiding behind the “self-acceptance” philosophy to avoid facing my reality. I may look “ok” on camera or walking down the street, but deep down I’m not satisfied with my appearance. . I’m grateful for my body and for who I am, and I realized that loving myself means honoring that. It’s taking care of what we’ve been given ✨ . This is a wake up call for me and for whoever is not satisfied with their body as it is now. . Some things we just can’t change like our height, the color of our skin or the shape of our face. And that’s ok because those things make us who we are. But there are endless things we CAN do to really love ourselves . This month I will start by: 👉🏼 moisturizing my face daily and my body 👉🏼 eating less sugar 😭🍩 👉🏼 hydrating my hair 👉🏼 exercising 😭🚴🏼‍♀️ 👉🏼 flossing more often 👉🏼 using sunscreen daily ☀️ 👉🏼 cutting my hair (split ends) 💇🏼‍♀️ 👉🏼 sleeping 7-8 hours 😴 . A healthier body will lead to a healthier mind and happier (and longer) life 🙌🏼 So, what is your definition of self love? And is it the same than self acceptance? . This t-shirt was a gift from @anakarinamanco @tuestima and @fundacionangelesdelcamino — Check out their beautiful initiative to bring love and hope to young victims of sexual assault 💔 #loveyourself #hellofears #selflove #selfacceptance #motivation #inspiration
When people ask me ‘who is the person you’ve inspired and feel most proud of?’, it has to be my mom. . A few months ago I gave my mom one of our “brave necklaces” as a reminder to think about the BEST that can happen before freaking out for something that hasn’t happened yet. The other day she told me she feels naked without it. . I can’t believe the positive impact this piece has had over her anxious personality. It helps her stay mindful about her actions and her thoughts, and I’m so proud of her because of that. . Being able to control our state of mind is no easy task, that’s why I had to create these reminders, not only for myself but for anyone who may need it once in awhile 🙏🏻♥️ . You’re still on time to get this choker/necklace for a brave mom you know or one that needs a little reminder from time to time! — Go to michellepoler.com/shop (use code COURAGE for 10% off) #bravemom #courageis #hellofears #mothersday
WE’RE AGING 😬 . Happy birthday to this handsome guy who gets hotter with age. This is the 12th birthday we celebrate together and I can say that aging by your side has been the best thing that happened to me. . I used to fear getting old, but with you I realized that things can only get better with age. We know how to love better, how to be there for each other better, how to please each other better and how to please ourselves better. . The more I spend time with you, the more I love you, I sound so cliché right now, but I do. I don’t miss the butterflies in my stomach from our first year together, I much rather share the feeling we have for each other now. . Those wrinkles by our eyes when we smile - that were not there when we first started dating, are only a sign of our happiness and I wouldn’t change them for the world. . To many more years by your side on May 1st and every other day of the year ♥️🌵 #happybirthday #aging #love — Wish @stramhacks happy birthday here 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
Have you ever thought about volunteering abroad, and you liked the idea, but you haven’t yet dared to go? I feel ya. . Just like you and I, Mijal was terrified to do it but wanted it more than anything. Read her ridiculously inspiring story and I bet you’ll be planning your next trip to Africa soon. Should we go together? 🙌🏼😬 Where would you do it? . Find her story at hellofears.com or swipe up on my instastory! #hellofears #courageis #volunteer #africa #helpothers #selfless
#FridayChallenge ⬇️ . When was the last time you sat down and wrote a handwritten letter to a friend? . Why do it? ✨ It can take you literally less than 10 minutes ✨ It costs only 49c to send a postcard ✨ You WILL change that person’s mood for the day (or week) 😐➡️😊 ✨ You don’t need a reason to do this, besides genuine love/care fore that person . I decided that from now on I’ll give you weekly challenges to do things that may be a little outside of your comfort zone but that can improve your life by 5%. Let me know of you like the idea! #whenwasthelasttime #hellofears #challenge
My #1 tip for public speaking: . You know I’ve said courage is contagious, right? Well, smiling is contagious as well. . When you smile to the world, the world will smile back at you. And this applies to public speaking ☺️. . Scroll through the other images the photographer captured during my talk at Yum Brands. What’s consistent about them? . But be careful, your smile needs to come from a genuine place. When you speak you have to make sure your heart is enjoying the content you’re sharing. If your heart smiles, you will to. . And don’t get me wrong, I’m not only talking about happy things👆🏼here. A genuine smile can tell a sad story with deep emotions as well as a happy one. . I don’t stop smiling, not one minute during my presentation, because I truly believe that my content matters and that it can make a difference. Yours can too. Just believe in it 🙏🏻☺️✨ . Let me know if this was helpful and if I should keep sharing my #publicspeakingtips ✌🏼@hellofears #hellofears . Special thanks to James Fripp for bringing us to Yum and for these wonderful pictures. You rock!

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