Fear & Loathing in a business mind: 3 ways to overcome fear

4 replies
I remember the moment I stepped out the door of my work place for the very last time to set up my own business. Only 15 minutes before I was counting down the minutes to leave the place. Yet now with the open air breathing against my skin, suddenly I felt a strong knot in my stomach and the shortening of breath;

'****; what have I just done', I thought as I forced myself to keep walking. No one in my family had started a business before and with my Father being a Risk manager he reminded me of the risk I was taking under the 'current economic climate'.

Fear can be a crippling phenomenon. It is one of the biggest factors that stop people ever starting a business, even though they hate their jobs and dream of being their own boss. You may have felt the same way when you decided to start a business. And it doesn't stop there; many times in business you will feel the physical sensation that will make you want a dark hole to open below you and be transported to another world of comfort and familiarity.

Joseph O'Connor in his book 'Free yourself from fear' talks about Fear in 2 contexts:

Real Fear
This is the very real fear that is happening to you in this very moment. This is the fear we faced when we lived in caves and hunted for our food. So if a big menacing figure wearing a hoodie came at you in a dark alley screaming for your wallet, real fear is what you will be feeling.

Imagined Fear
A headline from a newspaper reads 'More business Owners file for bankruptcy'. Suddenly your mind goes into overdrive 'I'm a business owner and that means I'm in danger of going bankrupt in the future' and you begin to feel the same effects as if it was a real danger (like the example above). So your body can experience the same feeling of real fear even if there is currently no fear around you.

Fear not though my enlightened reader, because I have 3 ways you can handle fear, so you can get on with what is important about building your business.

Be prepared
Confidence comes to those that go into situations knowing 100% they are prepared. What would you have to know to become less fearful?

I know a lot of advice talks about being prepared, however some things repeated are worth taking note of. Whatever it is that you fear, ask the question; what would I have to know to reduce my fear by 5%'? Keep answering this question until you can feel the fear reducing.

Ironing out tension
As humans we are embodied. Our emotions play out in our physiology and as a result if we are fearful in our minds, it will show and feel in our body as well. You can begin the process of reducing this impact by first breathing deeply from the stomach.

When this is in a comfortable way, you can start to notice areas of your body relaxing as you let more oxygen flow freely. Think of a word you would associate with calm & relaxation and with exhalation, say that word in the smoothest way you possibly can.

This is a process of getting your body in a more relaxed physiology to enable you snap out of 'fear paralysis'.

Reverse devil's advocate
Sometimes you find by making your environment comfortable (lying on the sofa) and thinking of some of the worst things that could happen in the situations that you fear and go through the process of asking; what could I do to make the situation end well for me? Don't be lame and respond, I can't think of a positive way out of this.

This is more of a thinking exercise than anything and will pay dividends when encountering problem situations in your business. Fear is reduced when you have an increased certainty that you will cope whatever **** storm life throws at you.

By playing director in your mind and working through the outcome you become more confident that if any issue materialised you will be ok.

Sorry guys and guys there is nothing you can do to erase fear; it is as engrained in our nature as community building and courtship. Yet we don't have to suffer from it so much that it halts us from doing what is necessary to have the best business you can have.

So Kick fear in the ass and continue to build a first class business.
#anxiety #business #fear #loathing #mind #overcome #ways
  • Profile picture of the author werpetalpushers
    Fear can also be a great motivator!! Thanks so much for sharing this post!!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5570196].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author mgreener
    Hi,

    Thanks for sharing.

    Another thing that helps is to embrace fear and play through it, imagine where you will be and what you will be if you don't make changes, if you don't take action. Sometimes the fear of remaining in the same place and continuing to suffer is enough to get us to act. (research the Dickens method)
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5570606].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author AaronMorton
    @Werpetalpushers - Absolutely fear can be a great motivator. Having a fear of being poor or being as poverty stricken as when they were a child can be enough to drive them towards getting what they want.
    Humans are much more loss averse then they are passion seekers, so fear can most certainly be a motivator.

    @mgreener - yes the Dickens method is a favourite at Tony Robbins events and one that I use occasionally when working with clients. Looking at the benefits and consequences of continuing down the path they are going can be an enlightening experience and one that can prevent a lot of issues in business as well.

    Thank you for commenting guys

    Aaron Morton
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5570937].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author kayshaw
    Originally Posted by AaronMorton View Post

    Fear can be a crippling phenomenon. It is one of the biggest factors that stop people ever starting a business, even though they hate their jobs and dream of being their own boss. You may have felt the same way when you decided to start a business. And it doesn't stop there; many times in business you will feel the physical sensation that will make you want a dark hole to open below you and be transported to another world of comfort and familiarity.
    Thanks for the informative and inspiring post. I completely know what you mean. Before and after I graduated college 5 months ago I was so afraid of going out into the world even though I wanted to be done with college so badly. I was even more afraid when I decided to go the opposite way of my degree and start my own online business.

    My family was horrified that I was going to do this, and they continually tell me that I need to go to graduate school instead of chasing pipe dreams. But I truly believe that perseverance and determination is everything in this world. I also agree with the real and imagined fear responses and how they affect us. Fear is one of the greatest motivators of our actions.
    Anyways,
    Thanks so much!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5571126].message }}

Trending Topics