Today’s Lie: You Should Run From Your Fear

Fear is something we are conditioned to hide, and run from.  Frankly, it gets confusing – when we’re younger, we’re taught to fear the things that cause us danger – moving cars, people with weapons, failure, poverty, disease, etc. Then, as we grow up, we’ve been trained to run from, well, most things, because they probably fit into one of our danger paradigms.  So, though we get told somewhere in life to “face our fears”, this messaging conflicts directly with our sense of survival and makes no sense, but running sure does!  And, running is often metaphorical.

When it comes to fear, many of us, though we may talk about “facing our fears” end up facing the underside of the blanket we’re hiding under. Fear, frankly, has become a convenience for you – it allows you to justify inertia, nothingness, laziness, sitting-in-front-of-the-tv-all-day-itis, and lack of accomplishment. The thing is, in most cases, fear is simply a thought process you’ve attached yourself to.  Seriously, it’s just a THOUGHT.  But, you know how it plays out, and the more power you give that thought, the more inertia sets in.

In business, there are many ways that your fears are playing out:

• not going after the “big wigs” because you’re afraid they will see you’re not experienced enough
• avoidance of creating a web presence because your work isn’t perfect yet, and imperfection might result in a lack of credibility
• lack of sales and marketing activities resulting in no clients, and no revenue
• shrinking your ultimate goals and visions because you feel like you’re not good enough or qualified enough for your business to accomplish them

So, how can you tackle your fears and get out of your own way?  Here are a few ideas:

1. If you’re feeling inferior to someone or something, you’ve probably put them on a pedestal.  Envision the person or thing on that pedestal, and find a way to knock the legs out from under it!
2. Perfection is a bigger monster than fear, and it’s also full of shit because perfection does not exist.  Hold yourself accountable to action, not monsters that don’t exist.
3. Remember that the only guarantee of your failure is to avoid action of any kind.  Figure out what you’re avoiding, and challenge yourself to face it head on.

Have you taken the Business Integrity Quiz yet?  Click here to take it now!