Is FEAR holding you back in business?
The pandemic may have eased, but there is an epidemic that has been raging among business leaders for a long time now…..and that is fear.
I believe that fear holds most of us back more than we realise.
I’ve witnessed leaders let themselves be guided by fear, which never works out well.
When we let fear take the reins, we lose control of our destination.
Now, I’m all for making intelligent decisions and taking calculated risks without throwing caution to the wind.
But often, we view that feeling of fear as a sign to turn back or change our plans.
What we forget is that fear is normal. It’s telling us that we’re in unfamiliar territory – but that doesn’t mean it’s telling us that territory is the wrong place for us.
“Don’t be afraid of your fears. They’re not there to scare you. They’re there to let you know that something is worth it.”
― C. JoyBell C.
You see, we all feel fear. But most people don’t realise we get to choose how we respond to that feeling of FEAR.
The problem?
Most people dont or won’t admit that fear is holding them back.
We can let it stop us in our tracks, or we can explore, challenge and learn to understand what the feeling is telling us.
It might be fear of making the wrong decision…. fear of what others will think of us…..or fear of failure.
We all have these fear, but the most successful leaders stay committed to their vision, even when that fear resurfaces.
“Brian thought about it. ‘Can a man still be brave if he’s afraid?’
‘That is the only time a man can be brave,’ his father told him.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones.
There are many times in my business journey that I have felt afraid:
- Leaving Scotland many years ago to live and work in the Middle East.
- Quitting my luxurious corporate life and returning to the UK to start my own business.
- Pivoting our whole business model when the pandemic hit.
- When launching new innovative products and programmes.
All of these things contain an element of fear. But that didn’t prevent me from moving forward with them.
Some things work out, and some don’t – that’s the nature of life and something we must accept.
But being too scared to try is a sure-fire way of ensuring it never works out.
“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist.
Sometimes we need support to overcome our fears and to learn how to manage that feeling of fear helpfully and productively, which allows us to move forward with our plans.
A first vital part of the equation: To overcome our fears in business, we MUST have a clearly defined vision that is strong and clear enough to push our teams and us to work through the discomfort of fear and anxiety to achieve the results on the other side.
The second vital part of the equation: As business owners and leaders, we need to discuss the vision more than we think we should and enable our staff and team members to believe it’s both plausible and possible.
Sometimes it’s only us that can see the vision, so we need to help others see it too.
We can mitigate as many risks as possible when making changes in our business, but ultimately as leaders, we have to manage and overcome our fears to move forward.
Learning how to handle fear and uncertainty is a big part of what we teach in our programmes – our world-first SQA-approved Leading With Motivational Intelligence (MQ) Executive Diploma and our Business Growth Academy.
We’ll help you take practical steps to plan your business path and minimise risks, but also embrace the uncertainty, change and fear which will arise on your business journey.
And through this support, you will be better equipped to think bigger, be better and achieve more business success than you ever imagined.
Click the link below to learn more about how we can help you achieve your desired business success.
https://www.thepowerwithintraining.com/leadership-development-courses/motivational-leadership/
James Fleming
The Power Within Training,
The Motivational Intelligence Company
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