You’ve probably heard the phrase”Feel the Fear and Go But. You may be living in accordance with that motto. Some may be frightened and let it suffocate their actions, not risking their lives, and living an existence of security and comfort. Fear is a normal emotion that we all experience at times. It can help us stay in a safe place when confronted with risk or something we’re not prepared for. Fear can cause us to conduct further study prior to embarking on an exciting new endeavor as well as a catalyst to better plan. However, fear can be a hindrance to us stopping in our tracks and serve as a hindrance to professional and personal progress. Do you have a solution that is a good compromise? Yes!
The intersection of fear and Excitement
When clients approach me for help with specific areas they wish to try or tackle but are afraid of back, I typically coach them on the interplay between fear and excitement. Let me demonstrate.
Imagine something you’d like to try, do or take on but you’ve never done before since fear has raised the ugly side of your head. Because of one or the other reason you are afraid of undertaking this endeavor, performing this job, or going on this adventure. It doesn’t matter if it’s a professional or personal. It could be as large as starting a new company switching jobs, moving, or even a small task like starting a blog , or taking on a new pastime.
Check if you are also excited about trying this particular task, exercise or new adventure. Are you able to answer “yes” to the excitement? If yes, then excellent! If you look at this project as an entire pie How much of your response and the emotion about it and how much of it is enthusiasm? If you want to overcame your fear of doing something, there needs to be some enthusiasm to bring it all back in balance! If excitement is more of a piece of the pie better. You’ll be able to go forward with more confidence because your enthusiasm will guide your steps and help to eliminate some of the anxiety.
What happens if you fear an enormous part of the pie that excitement? Does this mean that you are guaranteed to remain stuck forever? Not necessarily. It could be that you haven’t done enough study or research to be enthusiastic about the idea yet. It is usually when we begin to “see” our goals and plans for the future take form, and it will take a bit longer to form within our brains before excitement begins to take hold. If you don’t have any enthusiasm for the task at hand and you are afraid of the dark cloud that hangs over you, then you’re on the best option that you are on…, or perhaps your anxiety is too overwhelming to conquer at the moment. So , what should you do?
Do a Trial Run
You could do a test exercise of your venture, but in a manner that makes you feel more secure and less. In the case of example, prior to launching your own business, you should do some work experience or shadowing someone who performs what you wish to be doing for a living. This gives you an idea of what it’s an experience to be a business owner and doing this work prior to actually begin. If you’re looking to write a book but you are unable to overcome the fear that is holding your back, you can start with a blog or a series of posts. Typically, small versions or a trial version of the project will help you overcome some fears and will get you fired up!
Just Do It
As the slogan of the infamous Nike advertisement, just go for it! Yes, I’m talking about it. Close your eyes and plunge into the depths. In my case keep your eyes wide open with your hands on the steering wheel, because my biggest fear was driving across bridges. I enjoy driving and I’ve been doing it since I was a teenager. I travel long distances and drive lots of kilometers for speeches as well as personal travel. But for a long time I was terrified of driving across bridges. Oddly enough, I’m not scared of high places however, bridges scared me out. What was I to do? I drove across numerous bridges! It eased my fear, “conditioned” me to become comfortable with it and then realize that I can succeed at it. The actual task I was afraid of , took some of the power from the fear I was putting into it. The fear diminished and less until I was driving across the bridge ago, and I realized that I had no fear any more.
Did I develop excitement about driving over bridges? I’d never go as far! However, I was awestruck about the places that crossing bridges might take me. I’ve become a big enthusiast of road trips and have taken them many times. In actuality my husband and me have just driven 3600 miles through all of the United States as we relocated from New York to California, and there were indeed many bridges.
What would you do if were able to overcome your fears? Determine if your pie is at least the same amount of exhilaration and then take a huge bite of it and enjoy!