WHAT IS FEAR?

Dealing with Covid-19 during the past few months has led to an increase in uncertainty and fear for many people. Fear can be crippling from both a personal and business perspective. But it is an emotion that can be managed with self-reflection, awareness and strategies to suit you and your business needs.

 

Fear has many definitions, including:

• an unpleasant emotion caused by being aware of danger; a feeling of being afraid
• a feeling of respect and wonder for something very powerful
• to be afraid of something or someone
• to expect or worry about something bad or unpleasant
• to be afraid and worried

 

When fear manifests in your personal or business life, it often holds you back from ‘doing’ and prevents your business from developing into whatever YOU want it to be. ‘Doing’ or ‘action’ is the main catalyst to overcoming the effects of fear.

Fear stems from our basic DNA. The ‘flight or fight’ mechanisms that helped our ancestors to survive remains built into us. In today’s world, most of us do not face those life or death situations, but the physiological response to threat has adapted to our current way of life. 

Throughout my business journey I have experienced fear of:

• the unknown
• failure
• not being good enough – the imposter
• being wrong

 

While I know I am not alone in these thoughts, when I look back on my journey I can see that all of my fears stem from imagining the worst case scenario, rather than understanding the positives that come from taking control of negative emotion and forging ahead. The resulting outcomes have shown me that my fears were simply an emotion, not a reality. And, as such, it can be worked through and managed. It is possible to develop strategies to deal with fear and move forward with your personal and business goals.

 

I believe that fear will knock on my door again, but how I deal with it is the key to growth and development. Remembering that fear is an emotion, not what is actually happening helps to remind me that I am in control, not the emotion.

What fears have you experienced? 

How did you deal with them? 

Do you still have them and if so, what can you do about understanding and working with them?

We’d love to hear from you. Feel free to contact us to discuss your thoughts!