08-03-2011, 10:29 AM
When was the last time you took a risk? Not something major and life-threatening but something that repre-sented a step outside your comfort zone. Can you recall a time recently when you did something that felt un-comfortable for you? If not, get ready to take a major step forward. Frequently, in work and in life, we get too comfortable. We find solid ground a place that feels safe, we get comfortable and we settle in. Weâre pro-grammed to do it. Itâs how we operate. Look for safety and stay there. But these days, itâs imperative that we act against our programming to truly succeed and find our own greatness.
Whatâs holding us back? Itâs almost always fear. Fear is the number one reason why people stay in their safe-ty zones. But what are we afraid of? When it comes down to stepping outside oneâs comfort zone, there are really two things at work for most people fear of success and fear of failure.
Fear of Success Many people say they have a fear of success. What does this mean? It means that when these folks envision their success, they see the ways in which theyâll disappoint people, the ways they wonât be able to handle the success, the ways theyâll mess up their success. Most people arenât actually afraid of success, but rather of failing after the success. Theyâre afraid they canât handle it and theyâll fall much farther than if theyâd never tried at all. Itâs much more painful to fall from, say, a 20-story building, than it is to fall from a sidewalk curb. Itâs the fall from the height of success that we fear, not the success itself.
Fear of Failure Thereâs a common misconception about a fear of failure, the fear of failure isnât actually fear of failure at all, itâs a fear of criticism. Weâre more afraid of being judged for our failures than anything else.
So now that weâve isolated this fear of criticism, what does one do about it? How do you conquer the one thing that gets in the way more than anything else, more than lack of skills, more than lack of knowledge, more than bad luck or anything else you might think of, how do you conquer fear?
How Do You Conquer Fear? You donât actually have to âconquerâ fear. You have to master it. Mark Twain once said, âCourage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.â Successful people arenât people who conquered fear, theyâre people who faced fear. Theyâre people who were afraid and did it anyway.
Look, everybody is afraid of something. The most successful people have mastered fear with courage and learned to forge ahead. Today, make a decision to forge ahead with something in your life or in your busi-ness. Make a decision to face at least one of your fears. Take a risk and get better at something youâre afraid of. Face a fear with courage and youâll see payoffs emerging faster than you ever could have imagined.
Whatâs holding us back? Itâs almost always fear. Fear is the number one reason why people stay in their safe-ty zones. But what are we afraid of? When it comes down to stepping outside oneâs comfort zone, there are really two things at work for most people fear of success and fear of failure.
Fear of Success Many people say they have a fear of success. What does this mean? It means that when these folks envision their success, they see the ways in which theyâll disappoint people, the ways they wonât be able to handle the success, the ways theyâll mess up their success. Most people arenât actually afraid of success, but rather of failing after the success. Theyâre afraid they canât handle it and theyâll fall much farther than if theyâd never tried at all. Itâs much more painful to fall from, say, a 20-story building, than it is to fall from a sidewalk curb. Itâs the fall from the height of success that we fear, not the success itself.
Fear of Failure Thereâs a common misconception about a fear of failure, the fear of failure isnât actually fear of failure at all, itâs a fear of criticism. Weâre more afraid of being judged for our failures than anything else.
So now that weâve isolated this fear of criticism, what does one do about it? How do you conquer the one thing that gets in the way more than anything else, more than lack of skills, more than lack of knowledge, more than bad luck or anything else you might think of, how do you conquer fear?
How Do You Conquer Fear? You donât actually have to âconquerâ fear. You have to master it. Mark Twain once said, âCourage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.â Successful people arenât people who conquered fear, theyâre people who faced fear. Theyâre people who were afraid and did it anyway.
Look, everybody is afraid of something. The most successful people have mastered fear with courage and learned to forge ahead. Today, make a decision to forge ahead with something in your life or in your busi-ness. Make a decision to face at least one of your fears. Take a risk and get better at something youâre afraid of. Face a fear with courage and youâll see payoffs emerging faster than you ever could have imagined.
