What's really in the shadows?

As a child I had a vivid imagination (still do). Like many other children, the longer I looked into the dark or shadows, the scarier the shapes would become. A sweet teddy bear started looking mean and then turned into looking like a crouching intruder. A tree branch blowing in front of the window was a witch waiting for me to go to sleep (it didn't help any when the branch made scratching noises).

I thought I grew out of that. But it appears that my imagination has taken on new "shadows" to distort. About five years ago, my web designer gently suggested that I could save a lot of money on web updates by getting a simple website program. I told myself that sure it might seem simple to him but I'm no techie and I certainly wouldn't understand it. A few year's later, an artist friend told me she was using a program for web updates and it really was easy. I brushed the idea off when I thought of how b-o-o-o-r-e-d I would be trying to decipher how to use the program and how awful it would be to even give it a try.

Instead of simply trying out the program, I looked high and low until I hired someone to assist me. To me, this assistant may as well have been a knight slaying a fearful dragon. I was SO thankful to have her help. She made it look so easy that I put her on the pedestal of being a technical genius (she really was great). When she moved on with her career I was concerned about how I could ever find anyone else to help me with my website. To my surprise, within a week I received a referral for more good help. When my new assistant had a family crisis, I panicked about how to keep on top of the updates I needed if she weren't available.

I'm embarassed to say that it was the moment of panic and realizing my dependence on her that made me finally decide to approach the shadow and see if it was really that scary. I downloaded a trial version of the program, certain that it would be beyond my comprehension. I readied myself to read a diatribe of information on how to make it work. But poof, within a couple of minutes I'd learned all I needed and was eager to get started. It really WAS easy (and addictively fun, I admit). Suddenly, I felt competent in the web world. There was even a fleeting moment where I wondered, "Maybe I should branch out and offer website services." The scary image in the shadow had revealed itself to be a harmless and useful tool. (I know-just like everyone said it would be.)

So I think I've outgrown distorting the 'shadows.' Oh wait...it's tax time. I've been putting off dealing with that awful, hideous beast that grows and grows until it sucks all the oxygen out of the room. But I faintly remember that each time when I dove in and did my best, it wasn't nearly as painful as I'd imagined. Okay, I better go tackle this 'beast' while I'm feeling brave.

What's really in a 'shadow' that you fear and have been procrastinating on? What would help you approach it so that you could see it's not as bad as you've imagined.