This Woman Had A Hundred Things She Was Scared Of, So She Decided To Face Them One By One!

Meet Michelle Poler. She's an art director and she's just like anyone else in that she has fears. The only difference? She decided to face them in a performance art piece called 100 Days Without Fear. The artist did everything from posing nude to embrace her body, to jumping out of a plane in the sky, to dancing like nobody was watching at Times Square! All in 100 days.

Poler says on her website, "In 2014, I moved to New York City to start a Master's Degree in Branding at the School of Visual Arts. Trying to control New York was a complete nightmare, but what really pushed me to pursue this project was not the controlled lifestyle I was leaving behind, but the frustration of not enjoying this city and life in general to the fullest."

So she decided to make a project of it!

Here she is in a bikini in New York. Her fear was criticism and feeling uncomfortable.

"A couple weeks ago I was at Union Square and I had an encounter with this guy that moves around NY "spreading love." Suddenly, he asked me to take my clothes off and face my fear. I took my sweater off and that's it, I couldn't keep going. I was extremely self-conscious thinking about 100 reasons why I just couldn't take my clothes off even though I knew it was the perfect opportunity to face a spontaneous fear right there. For two weeks I thought about that moment everyday and kept making excuses in my mind not to do it. I thought I was afraid of criticism, until I realized that no one will ever criticize me as harsh as I criticize myself, and that is extremely sad. That moment, I decided to ignore every possible negative thought I could have about my body, go back to Union Square where this started and walk around feeling confident about myself!"

Pohler, on day 65, going skydiving

"The moment Mike opened the airplane's door I experienced an adrenaline rush for the first time in my life. I always imagined that at that moment I would be crying, passing out or panicking, but it was quite the opposite. I was extremely excited and eager to jump."

Poler's challenge here was to dance like no one was watching.

"Let me tell you that this was one of the best experiences I've had in my life. I honestly never felt so good, comfortable and confident. You must do this at least once in your lifetime! Sounds super silly and you're thinking "no freaking way," but I swear it is sooo worth it."

Poler poses nude for New York Academy of Art.

"I was extremely nervous about this one as you can imagine, so once I was standing on the stage I immediately turned around, faced the wall and let my robe slip down revealing my body. I stayed in that position for 5 minutes until I was confident enough to turn around and face the artists for my second pose. I was so nervous I couldn't even look at the people drawing me. Finally, I sat down for my 3rd pose and fell a bit more empowered and comfortable as I realized that I was inspiring artists to create beautiful drawings. By then, I was completely in character so I laid down for my last pose. After seeing all the drawings I got to appreciate the value of being a nude model. They were all unique and way too beautiful in their own way."

Poler flies a plane!

"What an amazing experience, I'm so glad I did it!!! Plus, Ryan the owner, and the entire team at Take Flight Aviation were incredibly cool. I'm definitely down to doing it again. Next time with my husband! Now I finally understand my dad, who's been telling me his stories about flying ever since I arrived to this planet :) I did it dad!!!"

On October 18th, 2015, Michelle faced her last fear - to speak at TEDxHouston.

"I not only faced the big fear of public speaking but I convinced myself that motivating others to step out of their comfort zone and live a life without fear is the biggest reward I obtained by starting this amazing initiative that not only changed my life, but it changed my resume just a bit. From now on I will spend my days encouraging as many people as I can to approach their fears and start living a more fulfilled lifestyle, if not now, when?"

If you're interested in what other fears Michelle has conquered, be sure to head over to her website.