Positive Thinking is a weekly series of inspirational articles to empower and encourage you.

In the summer of 2018 I turned 44. I always hear people complain about getting older, but I like to look at how far I've come. OK, OK, I may sometimes throw out a comment here or there about feeling old and falling apart, but for the most part, my birthday is my "new year" and when I reflect on the past, present and future. In this photo, I am almost 4 years old. It was my very first recital and I would be going out on stage dancing to "Me and my Teddy Bear." As much as any Leo loves the spotlight, I was scared. What if I forget the steps? What if I mess up the tempo? What if everyone laughs at me? Much like when I first stepped out on stage that day, deciding to expand my beauty blog into a bath and body line several years ago, was scary. What if no one buys my products? What if I make our family go broke? What if I am a complete and total failure? But I faced my fears. I pushed through. Deciding to take a leap and step out in faith is hard. Like, really, really hard. Your mind will play tricks on you and fill you with fear. It'll create every what-if scenario. It'll even take something positive and try to find the negative. You'll also encounter people who seem to only reconfirm those thoughts and scare you more. This happened to me when "friends" would privately message me to say, "So many beauty brands fail in the first few years," and "I hate to say this, but you really aren't going to make it," and "I don't like how you chose to start your company and I will never support you or buy from you." All of the above were real things said to me. I would sit here and silently cry at my desk...and sometimes sob to my husband. Maybe I'm not smart enough? I mean, I've never done something like this before. Maybe I'm naive in thinking I can be successful. Every fearful thought multiplied in my head as more people offered their opinions. And we all know the saying about opinions. ;) Eventually I looked in the mirror and realized that I was allowing fear to hold me back. That's when I decided I would push forward and give it my best shot and here I am, still going strong. I'm telling you all of this because each day is an opportunity to face something you are afraid of and grow from it. Is today the day you need to look in the mirror and tell fear you won't be held back any longer? Is today the day you will step out in faith and believe in yourself? One day you'll look back and be thankful you did. Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! beauty blog. Watch our reviews on YouTube, see our pins on Pinterest and check us out on Instagram. Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle too! Or check out our natural bath and body line!