“Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, professionals built the Titanic.”
Unknown
Are You a Hostage to Fear?
The kind of fear doesn’t matter – whether it’s fear of failure, the unknown, rejection, or even fear of success (yes-there are those who are afraid to succeed-I’ll save that topic for another time). It’s paralyzing.
Fear can stop you in your tracks.
The good news is that you don’t have to allow fear to stop you.
Move past your fear and toward achieving your success!
Here are the success steps I took to overcome my fear:
1. Identify the Fear
The first step is to get clear on the fear and source. Ask yourself, where is this fear coming from? What exactly am I afraid of?
2. Dissect the Fear
- Consider all outcomes.
- On a sheet of paper, write at the paper, “Name of fear: Outcomes”.
- Draw a vertical line to make two columns.
- On one side, write, “bad outcome – Threat”,
- and the other column, write “Good outcome – Advantages”.
- List all possible outcomes according to each side. This will help you consider all the consequences of the issue at hand. It may also show how the advantages outweigh the threat.
- Let’s take a step further.
3. Challenge Your Threats
What is the worst thing that could happen if the bad outcome occurred? Is it really as bad as it looks? What would you do if it did happen? Let’s take control of the situation by creating a plan of action if the bad outcome occurred. Can you see how you can take control of the unknown by taking a proactive approach?
4. Adopt a Song as your Motivational Theme
Every year, I adopt a song to become my motivation theme to propel me into action. At the time of this writing this post, my theme song is Katy Perry’s Roar. Last year it was Mary, Mary’s Go Get It. I play it every morning, and whenever I feel particularly challenged. The jolt of energy gets me going. For you, it may be a quote, phrase, poem, etc. Use it to keep you motivated.
5. Take Action
Now that you have considered all the outcomes and was proactive and created a plan of action for the risks, the only thing left is to just go for it. You’ve removed the power of fear and gave yourself permission to go for it.
Important
You may take small steps to gain confidence, or you may just go full straddle. However, you decide to get going, what’s important is action – Do Something. Note: Don’t be surprised if you still feel the emotional side of fear (it’s a part of our natural defense mechanism). The difference is now you know that whatever happens, you can handle it.
What goals have you not pursued due to fear? You can begin to overcome your fear with these steps.
