Fear is an essential survival response, but if misapplied, it is completely debilitating.
When crossing the road or handling a dangerous substance, the fear of loss, pain or death is what makes us exercise caution and proceed carefully.
The essential elements are ‘exercise caution’ and ‘proceed carefully’. Notice that these two statements involve a progression, not a block.
Are we afraid of success? Failure? Pain? Embarrassment? Loss?
An easy way around this fear is to set a double goal. Set a second goal beyond the one you want to achieve.
While I was studying, I struggled for years to complete a simple Bachelor’s degree. As soon as I pushed my goal forward to a PhD, the Bachelor’s degree did not seem to daunting.
The ‘What/when/if’ questions that were nagging at me, doing their best to keep me in my comfort zone, were no longer relevant. I achieved the Bachelor’s degree with ease – and all I have to do now is get that PhD…
What are you afraid of in life right now? Set a goal beyond that fear.
Put a plan in place that will take you carefully forward to your secondary goal.
It is important to work within the fear parameter and exercise caution, but do not allow that caution to bring you to a grinding halt. Make a point every day of moving consciously toward that secondary goal.
This week’s challenge:
Now that you have a secondary goal, ask yourself if your initial fear is still as severe as it once was.
Do you still need it?
What purpose does it now serve, or can you pack it away in your ‘box of experience’ for future reference?
How successful do you want to be?
What is holding you back from achieving that success?
