We are still in the midst of difficulty.
And with it, comes fear.
The kind of fear that roots you in your spot
and if you move, you move slowly with apprehension and
uncertainty.
It is the kind of fear that takes over your
confidence, your clear sense of thinking and
determination. It is as if someone else is driving
your ship and you have no idea where you are
going.
Most of us would agree that fear is a terrible
thing, but we often only acknowledge it with the things
that threaten our physical lives; such as fear of
flying, fear of speed, fear of heights, etc.
And yet, its ever-presence in our everyday lives
is often masked as something else; such as
hesitation, prudence, lack of confidence, or
uncertainty. However, the underlying emotion
behind each of these is fear.
Fear has a firm grip. Fear can
keep us in unhappy relationships, the wrong jobs, or
even worst yet; fear can keep us from living both at
work and at home.
Ironically, fear is not about self-preservation
but rather self-destruction. Its impact is often
detrimental to our personal and professional
growth. So, it should come of little surprise that
people who achieve success in life know how to overcome
fear's grasp in order to capture
opportunity.
Warren Buffet says it best: "be greedy only
when others are fearful."
What he means by this is that you have the
opportunity to win and to rise above the rest when fear
is in the air. In difficult times, the majority is not
likely to take action. It is counter intuitive, but when
times are tough, it is most effective to dive in rather
than pull back.
The best antidote for fear
is action.
Think about the small steps you have made when
you have been stuck in fear and how empowering it is
when you have overcome it. All it takes is small
steps. Each step builds on the success of the
prior one, and after a series of steps, the fear is
abated. Fear usually paints a very realistic, yet
terrible picture of the unknown in our minds, but taking
small steps helps us recognize that this picture is
often an illusion.
Your fear
may be drawing pictures in your mind like
this:
- I will never find a job to support myself or my
family
- I will never get promoted in this company
- I will never get back on my feet if I lose my job
- I will never make it on my own
- I will lose my home
- I will starve
- I won't ever be loved by anyone else again
- I will never earn any money again
- I don't have any skills
- I don't think there is anything right for
me
The more you can challenge yourself to confront the
unknown to see how these pictures are in fact illusions,
the better you will become at overcoming fear. I
believe that you can do this in simple ways every day,
so that when you confront the big fears in your life,
you are more equipped to handle them.
Here are some every day, fear-busing,
confronting-the-unknown ideas to pursue at work
at home and everywhere in between:
- Dine alone in a public place.
- Attend a social event where you don't know anyone.
- Travel to a city/country you don't know.
- Eat something you never have tried before.
- Talk with someone who doesn't speak your language.
- Speak to a stranger.
- Ask for help from somkeone you don't know.
- Do something you never have done before.
- Learn something new.
- Go first.
Come on, step out, take action and put fear behind
you. There is bound to be a great opportunity
worth taking. Take a look at one of the ways I
have confronted my own fear: http://www.lauralopezart.com
