Do You Need Courage? 5 Things I Do To Get Over My Fear

John,

You're totally right my friend. Courage is probably one of the biggest traits any entrepreneur needs. As online entrepreneurs, we need it even more since people don't think we're legit and there's a lot of bad press out there about us.

What do you do to stay courageous?

Cheers,

Brad Spencer

It's interesting that people are thinking of using courage as a means of coping with fear or anxiety as it tends to presuppose that the anxieties will continue, hence the need for special resolve to overcome them.

Let's consider what anxiety really is. Humans are born with an inbuilt defense system which aims to protect them when a threat is perceived. Also known as the "fight or flight response" or the 'stress response", it is part of the autonomic nervous system, which means that it is automatically activated when we recognize a threat - adrenaline is released, blood withdraws from the surface of the skin, the heart pumps faster, breathing becomes more rapid to increase the intake of oxygen, we become very alert to possible danger, nutrients are released for muscular activity, etc.

Although the "fight or flight response" was only recently described (in 1915, by Walter Cannon) it obviously had been present in our ancestors for thousands of years and played an important part in their survival. Those fearless cavemen who were willing to go eyeball to eyeball with T-Rex and saber-toothed tigers we can assume did not survive long enough to pass down their genes to current generations.

In other words, the "fight or flight response" prepares our body for action, whether it is to stand our ground when faced with danger, or to get the hell out of there!

In the absence of the sort of predators our ancestors faced, the feelings and tensions produced by our bodies can also be activated by our perception of numerous other threats, many of them merely conceptual, or imaginary. If we are about to be run down by a car whilst crossing the road, this is an obvious physical threat and, as soon as detected, our reflexes kick in to save us.

When we imagine that people are criticizing or gossiping about us, or that we're about to sacked from our job, or our partner is having an affair, and the like - these are perceived threats our bodies respond to, even though they may be factually untrue. When we form an opinion about the nature of the world around us, our nervous systems respond to this "truth". Needless to say, we spend much our waking moments gathering information and making decisions about the world we experience. What we accept as true, our bodies will respond to.

When we don't have direct experience, we tend to rely on the opinions of "authority" sources - friends, newspapers, TV, teachers, parents, etc, in forming an opinion about the nature of the world around us.

Hence millions of people once thought it to be perfectly reasonable to believe that the world was flat and that Earth was the center of the Universe. Who knows how many ships toppled off the end of the world when they sailed beyond the horizon!

So, many of the feelings of stress and anxiety that we experience are natural responses to anticipated threats to our wellbeing - problems. If we believe we are losing money on the internet, our spouse is about to leave, and our kids hate us, we react with a sense of alarm and tension.

However, if we're expecting to be invited to Hugh Hefner's mansion (that's for the guys), to win the lottery, get a promotion at work, receive a proposal of marriage, inherit a fortune from a distant relative, meet the partner of our dreams, make a million bucks on the internet, etc - that's exhilarating. We're enthusiastic about our expected windfall, the sun shines brighter and the world appears to be a much happier place.

Those who feel success upon them also become more aware of, more alert to the opportunities that are opening up - they see more of their wants appearing to be possible. At such times, if only it were possible to clone ourselves to take advantage of the opportunities!

It would seem that learning to habitually perceive those things we want (goals) rather than what we don't want (problems) would have enormous benefits - less stress and anxiety; more constructive, creative action; a continuing sense of wellbeing; the chance to enjoy enthusiasm and passion rather than anxiety and despair, etc.

That these attitudes can be learnt is certainly possible. That they can be taught is definitely possible. There are many techniques and programs that will teach attitude change and are not just temporary, bandaid solutions. For instance, learning how to use affirmations correctly, self-hypnosis, even prayer can work for some.

One technique I used to teach, which was very effective, was to design affirmations to look for what is really WANTED when faced with a problem ('what do I really WANT?') and that this would be prompted by a small white spot on the face of a watch (or cell phone) so that whenever the person learning new attitudes looked at their watch, they would think of the affirmation - just for a few seconds. There is also software available which will do something similar - it displays affirmations on the computer screen while you work.

So I see courage as a fallback solution, in many cases. In the absence of fear and anxiety, courage isn't required and, if it is, that may be the signal we are focusing on problems rather than the outcome we really want. Enthusiasm is energizing and far more satisfying!

Ivan

If you expect something to happen, it is more likely to actually come true.

"Expect the best, prepare for the worst"