Should FEAR Stop You From Achieving Greatness?

As real as FEAR may feel when you are immobilised by the thought of calling on a new prospect, approaching your boss for a raise or asking the girl of your dreams out on a date. There is no real danger to you at all. There is no sabre toothed tiger going to attack you and eat you alive. Make no mistake you are experiencing real feelings of fear, the increased breathing, tightening in your chest and racing heart rate are all your flight or fight responses in action.

Although there is no real danger to you, your body responds to any potentially stressful situation, as though you were in fact facing real danger. Your adrenal gland releases adrenaline, which stimulates your heart rate, contracts your blood vessels and dilates your air passages. All of which are designed to increase blood flow to the muscles and prepare you to defend yourself or to give you extra speed when you run away.

The fear you experience in business, when you encounter any situation where you feel uncomfortable or you are stretched beyond your comfort zone, is unnecessary, as the reason you are feeling the fear, is not related to any real danger at all. The responses you are experiencing in your body, is a primitive one, designed to protect you, from real physical threats. When you learn the art of knowing that the FEAR response you feel in virtually every business situation is unjustified,. You will realise that despite the real feelings you experience as though you are experiencing real danger. You should feel the FEAR, prepare to confront the situation and go ahead anyway.

Use FEAR to motivate you
The challenge with most people is that they allow these feelings of FEAR, they experience in any business related situation, to immobilise them. If you want to become a super achiever, it is time that you broke away from this traditional response to FEAR and instead, learned the art of using this very powerful defence mechanism to instead drive and motivate you towards action. Can you imagine how empowered you would be and how much more successful you will be in business and sales, if you used FEAR as a powerful motivator. It would light the fire of inspiration in your belly and drive you to take massive action. There is nothing like a flurry of massive action, to extinguish the flame of unnecessary FEAR and get the ball rolling towards success.

Nothing ever happens to you - Things Happen Because of you
We all feel FEAR and the real physical responses, which come along with it. When you learn to use the adrenaline and increased heart rate to drive you, instead of immobilise you. You get to use the FEAR to drive you towards the very things you FEAR the most. It is not a natural response to move toward the very thing you FEAR. It will take practice and commitment.

Action Idea: Ask yourself the following

• Can I face my FEARS?
• What is it that I FEAR doing the most today?
• How can I use this FEAR to my advantage?

Now use the FEAR to drive you to take the very action you have avoided taking before. Taking action on the things you FEAR the most, will flex your courage muscle and help you to start building the new success habit, of facing your biggest FEAR first thing every day. Once you have faced and overcome your greatest FEAR, first thing in the morning, nothing else you do that day will feel intimidating at all. You will have set the tone for facing and overcoming any FEAR you have about contacting a prospect, asking that beautiful girl out on a date or asking your boss for a raise etc. As you flex your courage muscle more and more, you will begin to actually start looking for FEARS to overcome, as there is always a payoff to you in both confidence and success.

FEAR won't open the Chute
A couple of years ago a friend of mine wanted to celebrate his 60 birthday, by jumping out of a perfectly serviceable aeroplane. It was not something on my bucket list, but to support him, I reluctantly agreed to join him on this most ridiculous of endeavours. The heaviest person is always the first to jump out of the plane and as I weigh 92 Kg, that person was me. I Sat next to the open door as the small plane spent all of 20 minutes slowly climbing to 10 000 feet. The FEAR I felt grew with every minute that passed. When it was time for me to jump, I sat immobilised at the door, unable to step out onto the wing of the plane and then let go.

As I was in front of the door, if I did not jump, no one else behind me could jump either. The instructor on the plane, whispered in my ear, that FEAR would not open the chute, but my focused and determined actions would. The instructor obviously knew the right buttons to push and so I stepped out onto the wing of the plane and jumped. Those first few moments as I fell away from the plane, were terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time. As the line attached to the plane opened my parachute and I began to fly and glide towards the ground, I experienced the greatest freedom and control I have ever felt in my life.

By facing my FEAR, I got to experience one of the greatest feelings of freedom and control, as well as one of the best life lessons possible. The things you FEAR the most are most often the things you need to overcome the most, as they very often hide the greatest opportunities from you. Have the courage to face your greatest FEAR, today and every day and over time you will eventually get to experience all the most wonderful success you desire. You too will fly and glide on a mattress of meaning and fulfilment, towards the wonderful success you desire.