Fear can be crippling.
I know. I have felt it.
It’s almost understandable to feel paralysed with fear when doing scary, somewhat life threatening things like crossing the knife edge of Crib Goch, (3,028 ft) above sea level, in Snowdonia, Wales – yes, that was me (many years ago).
“Fear is a fundamental part of human psychology. Our brains are wired to feel fear because it helps us avoid a calamity; it keeps us safe,” says Deep Patel on Entrepreneur.com.
But for how many of us does fear have a crippling effect on a daily basis?
Fear can be debilitating.
It can stop you from achieving your dreams, from challenging the status quo, from using your voice – or even from trying something new.
In ‘11 Fears Every Entrepreneur Must Overcome’, fear of change, fear of failure, fear of the unknown and fear of taking risks are on the list. That will be a big fat “Hell, Yeah those things scare me” from me.
I doubt there are few business people who have gone through their career without experiencing fear – loss of face, loss of market share, loss of revenue, loss of job or worse still – loss of forward momentum. Many question – ‘Can I?’, ‘Who would want to listen to me?’, ‘Do I have the experience to do this?’
Crazy thoughts. Irrational fears. Maybe some (albeit small) rational fears. And when you are out of your comfort zone – whoosh there it is again!
The truth is that fear, for many of us, is present every day.
The difference is the form in which we choose for it to present itself.
Do you choose paralysing inaction or do you choose to turn the feeling into a powerful tool of success?
The choice ultimately is yours.
As Eleanor Roosevelt said, “We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face… we must do that which we think we cannot.”
For me, it is always about facing it head-on, exploring all the options whilst breathing deeply, trusting myself, turning negative thoughts into positive and then quite simply just doing it.
Buddha said, “A jug fills drop by drop.” So be patient with yourself.
At the end of the day maybe consider what it would cost you if you don’t at least try?
Until next time.
