One Little Word: Fearless, April 2025

As the end of the month draws to a close it’s time to look back and think about how my word showed up for me and influenced me and helped me to live my life to it’s fullest.

Here are some things I did that felt fearless:

Attended my first Massachusetts Municipal Association Board meeting in person. I applied for and was interviewed for this board position last fall and was elected to it at the MMA Conference in January. Our first meeting was on zoom but this past month was hybrid and I pushed myself to attend. I don’t love driving on the highway but I did it anyway. I don’t love going to places I’m not familiar with but I did it anyway. I don’t love walking into a room where I know hardly anyone but I did it anyway. The end result was that I made a new friend, had lunch with the Director of MMA, and attended a meeting that our Lieutenant Governor also attended. Go me!

Learned to crochet. It’s not an easy thing to try a new skill at anytime but the older we get the more challenging it can be. I’m still very much a beginner but I set my fear of failure aside and figured I had nothing to lose by trying. Having a great teacher in my friend Sean is certainly the biggest factor in the process but also having the courage to go for it has been exhilarating.

Got myself hearing aids. I haven’t shared this with you yet but I had a hearing test back in March and my results were decidedly not great. I went into it really thinking that it was my imagination or maybe just built up ear wax but no, it turned out I really was struggling to hear an awful lot. I decided to set aside the fear of spending money (it’s a lot and I won’t gatekeep the price, it was just over $6K and my insurance covered none of that) and the fear of looking old and go for it and I’m so glad I did. When I put my hearing aids in it’s like turning on the world and it’s glorious. I can hear people speak at meetings. I can hear the radio and the television without turning it way up. I can hear my coworker when she comes in my office (she’s a low talker). I can hear highs and lows in music that I had been missing for quite some time. I can also hear things that feel too loud like the rustling of paper and the flushing of a toilet but I am adjusting and it’s been incredibly empowering.

We really never know where these words will take us but I’m feeling pretty good about trying on the feeling of fearless.

Related Posts

Comments (13)

  1. Carole-
    This is a wonderful post! It has such a feeling of being free. Doing things that are not necessarily easy, but that are freeing to you!
    Inspirational. Thanks.

  2. It’s funny, even though we haven’t met in person, you always seem fearless in your writing and that’s how I think of you. I know that people don’t always show what’s going on inside, but I think you are doing fearless things. My SiL says that she is staving off Alzheimer’s when she learns a new skill like crochet, and the addition of hearing aids will certainly help. Keep on doing those fearless things!

  3. Go You!!! You are fearless and brave. Hearing aids ARE expensive. My insurance covered a big chunk of mine, but still…and yeah, flushing the toilet and brushing my teeth are SO loud now. LOL. I don’t wear mine all the time – and for sure NOT when I’m going to be helping with Iris. That girl has a set of lungs on her!

  4. I am so impressed, Carole! I share many of your fears, and I know how much gumption it takes to overcome them. As I am sure you have found when you do, you get to make decisions about whether doing these things are worth the effort and you learn new skills that expand your world. I hope you are patting yourself on the back for all the mental effort you have expended and your positive results. And good for you for getting hearing aids! Loss of hearing and not treating it is strongly implicated in dementia development. You can’t stay sharp if you don’t know what’s going on in your world. KUDOS!

  5. Good for you!!! I share a lot of the same fears, especially as I get older. Going into situations where I don’t know people have become more challenging for sure. Yay you for recognizing that hearing was getting harder and for getting your hearing tested!! A lot of people (ahem..Ken) don’t have the courage to do this. ??

  6. Good for you!!! I share a lot of the same fears, especially as I get older. Going into situations where I don’t know people have become more challenging for sure. Yay you for recognizing that hearing was getting harder and for getting your hearing tested!! A lot of people (ahem..Ken) don’t have the courage to do this. ??

  7. Go YOU! What a great list of accomplishments and fearless living! My hearing aid days are approaching quickly. Not working has slowed the need a bit but…Congrats again on your MMA election. Lucky Massachusetts!

  8. So much love to you, Carole. You are my Fearless Friend – and you always have been. It’s wonderful to see you OWNING your fearlessness. It gives me tingles! XO

  10. All my friends are getting them! You’re with the cool kids. I’m not far behind you. Go girl!!

  11. The flushing toilet… and also opening a bag of chips. Good lord, I think I’m doing it quietly but the way it’s amplified, it’s hard to tell if I’m being stealthy or not!! haha.

  12. Yay, Carole! Hearing is a use it or lose it skill (who knew?). You can start losing the neural connections for hearing when we don’t use them. I am so glad you fearlessly addressed this. I think you will enjoy your time outside so much more now.

  13. I am cheering your fearless self! (That meeting… I get you… I love how your fearlessness shines through as you went to that in-person meeting! Proof that if we take up fearlessness… our body and mind follow right along!)

    And from one very happy hearing person to you… well done for the hearing aid decision! No they are not cheap, but hearing is LIFE! XO

Comments are closed.

Back To Top