How to Overcome the Fear that’s Holding You Back in Your Career
What happens when you reach the point in your career when you’re ready to make a change — you want to start a business, or pivot to a new role, industry, or even career — and finally pursue your passion?
You’ve made the decision. You may have even put in your notice. But now the emotions flood in. You feel excited, but also anxious. You’re unsure how to push forward. You start picturing the worst possible outcomes.
What if I fail?
What if I fail so badly I have to move back in with my parents?
What if I deplete my savings pursuing my passion?
What if everyone who said to pick one career lane and stay there was right?
One of the greatest threats to your success is your own fear. Paralyzing terror keeps us from reaching out when we should grasp for our future. Worry of failure stops us from taking the bold steps needed to seize each opportunity to the fullest.
So how do you fight this fear? How do you cut through the terror, plunge into the unknown and pull out your victory?
In order to be successful, we must get to the root cause of what's driving our fear. When you understand fear, you’re able to push past it. The more you get past it, the more confidence you build to move in the direction you want.
To truly understand and conquer our fear, we must take the time to prepare. Solving the fear problem involves six steps.
Step One: Understand the Root Cause
What exactly are you afraid of? Identify all of your trigger points and write them down. At the same time, write down anything you can think of that helps you push through those fears.
Step Two: Figure Out Your Motivation
Are you more motivated by avoiding pain or by moving toward pleasure? People saturated with anxiety tend to think more about avoiding pain, because that’s their focal point. If you find yourself constantly running damage control in advance as you catastrophize, you’re probably a pain avoider.
Step Three: Harness Negative Feelings to Urgently Move Forward
If you focus on how disappointed your parents will be if you reject the traditional path, you may find yourself paralyzed. But focusing instead on how disappointed they’ll be if you live a miserable life and never achieve satisfaction gives you the urgency you need to push through your hesitation.
Step Four: Separate Your Perception of Reality From Reality Itself
You can start by questioning your feelings. Ask yourself why you believe what you do. What happens in life and what we often think happens in life aren’t the same. Do you try to predict the future? Are you often wrong? Is your worrying actually keeping you safe? Or have you made the right choices at the right times, in spite of your fear?
Ask yourself two big questions:
Where did you fail others?
Where did you fail yourself?
Once you’ve reached a place of reality, separated your fears from the truth, and come to grips with your own need for perfection, you reach. . .
Step Five: What If
To truly overcome your fears, you need to play out “what if”. This is an intentional projection of events. Unlike catastrophizing, you’re going to go through in advance what the most likely scenario is going to be. If you tend to focus on problems, pay special attention to positives.
Step Six: Commit to the Transition
Throw yourself into the decision and race down that path. The roller coaster is waiting. Embrace it! As you use your momentum to see you through the uphill climb, remember that the best part is still coming.
So, now it’s time to recognize the power you gain in making your own choices. By choosing your own path instead of taking the easy way out with avoidance, you gain control of your own life. To truly follow your compass, you need to build the courage to trust it.
This post was adapted from Chapter 5 Building the Business of You. Learn more about Preparing for Change in the book or by joining the Business of You e-course.