She walked up, picked up the microphone and was about to start singing… she couldn’t bring herself to glance up at the glaring eyes in front of her; when she did manage to, their gazes seemed to pierce right deep into her soul and her heart seemed to have relocated into her stomach, she opened her mouth to sing but for that brief moment right there, she lost her voice and all she could hear and feel was the pounding sound of her heart in her ears and the shaking of her hands and feet. It had happened again… her enemy had gotten the best of her once again! He was called FEAR.
That was a young girl I knew a few years back and just like her, we also have that same enemy – Fear that when he attacks, he keeps us rooted on the same spot; preventing us from taking that step forward, preventing us from going after that dream, from accomplishing that purpose, fear makes us miss opportunities, it makes us incompetent and the list goes on and on… Fear is an enemy that needs to be gotten rid of if we want to make any progress in life.
There are many different types of fear. Today I want to write about ‘TIMIDITY’ – the fear that makes us lack confidence and courage, the fear that makes us afraid to let our voices be heard. I’ve been a victim of this before and I must say I still fall prey to this sometimes. This could be a voice in our heads that just tells us we are not enough, or voices around us that instill this kind of fear in us or even the situations we’ve been through. Whatever the cause of Timidity is, it can be gotten rid of and you can regain 
confidence and boldness because really that’s the spirit we have inside of us. The spirit of Timidity is not from God! (2Timothy 1:7). Living a timid life limits us and prevents us from fully becoming what God intended for us to be. So how do you overcome this fear? How do you become courageous and bold? Below are a few tips that have been of help to me and I think they could help you too;
1. Make Baby Steps (Take it one day at a time)
Gaining courageousness and boldness will not happen overnight because this is an attribute that takes time to build and become a part of someone. So it is going to take time to get rid of also. So start small. Think about the communities you’re a part of (maybe your church, work, or a group of friends..) in what ways can you take on roles in these communities that will make you have to address people? or maybe you could start a bible study with a small group of people… What is important is you become intentional about getting out of your shell and gaining boldness. When you become intentional about it, it will be easier to get rid of it.
2. Don’t Be Scared to Fail
Failure is one thing most people (if not everyone) doesn’t like. Nobody wants to fail! So because we’re scared to fail, sometimes we don’t even try! If you want to get rid of timidity, you have to be ready to fail sometimes. Sometimes fear might get the best of you, you might lose your voice in front of an audience just like the young lady I mentioned above, but you don’t give up just because you failed! Thomas Edison tried 1000 times before he finally discovered the lightbulb! There’s a whole host of others like him who have recorded great failures in their lives but today they are great men in history we talk about all the time. Someone once said when we fail, we just find out another way not to do it. So don’t be afraid to fail! Take risks that are worth it.
3. Surround Yourself With the Right People
Words are very powerful and the words we hear very often affects us in greater ways than we are even aware of! If you surround yourself with people who’ll keep putting you down and making you even more timid, then you will remain that way. You should surround yourself with people who will help you gain confidence and get rid of timidity. Also, don’t be scared to take on leadership roles, no matter how small they are! It could be in your class, being class captain or at your work site – leading a project. Don’t shun these roles!
4. Build Your Faith
Last but definitely not least; grow in faith. It is said that Faith is the opposite of Fear. The more your faith grows, the less afraid you become. You can build your faith by spending quality time meditating and studying God’s word, spending time with him in prayer, spending time in community with other believers and most important, putting your faith to action.
So that’s it for today! I hope these tips helps anyone who’s fighting with timidity out there to begin to crawl out of their shells. I pray that God will help you fight this enemy as you put in effort yourself towards fighting him.