On a recent commute to work I was thinking a lot about fear and doubt. It strikes me that fear isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Fear can motivate you. Fear can keep you sharp. Fear can focus you on what’s most important.
The problem is that sometimes fear can also paralyze you. It can make you second guess yourself. If left unchecked fear can result in insecurities that threaten to derail us.
So how do we over come our fears? There are probably as many answers to that as there are things to be afraid of. But here’s what I am doing:
- I try to see the fear for what it is. What is it that i’m truly afraid of? If I can name the fear, it loses some of its power over me.
- I pick it apart. Once I know what the fear is, I look for bite-sized ways to tackle it. Very rarely does something have to be overcome all at once.
- I focus on the effort more than the end result. Often I can control how a particular situation will turn out. All I can control is the effort I make to accomplish the task.
- I give myself grace. Harder than it sounds. But, once I let go of the need to be perfect its amazing the amount of stress that can instantly dissolve.
And, remember to be patient with yourself along the way. These things take time.
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