Facing Your Fears As An Entrepreneur
If you are a new entrepreneur, or even if you've been at it for years, the hardest thing to do can be facing your fears head on. But this is the most important part of your journey. If you want to make it in business, then it's time to stop avoiding fear and embrace it!
In this post we will explore what fear really is and why we need to face it no matter how difficult that might seem. We'll also discuss strategies for approaching not just our business but also our own thoughts and emotions when they feel overwhelming.
What Is Fear?
Simply put, fear is a feeling of apprehension or dread. It's the feeling that accompanies a situation where the outcome is uncertain or potentially dangerous. We experience fear when we think we're in danger of losing something—whether it's our own safety, our money, our reputation, or even just the hope for something good to happen. We fear things we cannot control, are unpredictable (like terrorism), or perceived as uncontrollable (like losing health). Fear stops us from taking action and moving forward by making us feel powerless.
This can be a paralyzing feeling, and many of us have had times when it's felt necessary to stay in our comfort zone—especially when we fear change or uncertainty. This can result in missed opportunities and boredom. We may feel stuck in our jobs, hobbies, and relationships because we don't want to deal with fear or uncertainty.
But there's also the other side of fear, which is different from anxiety or nervousness about something that's actually dangerous. There are two main types of fear—a healthy type that motivates us to make positive changes and a crippling type that prevents significant progress even if what we're afraid of isn't dangerous at all.
We feel healthy fear when we take action because we're afraid of losing something that's valuable to us. We might not like it, but we know it would be better to change in order to avoid an undesirable situation. Here are some examples of healthy fear:
When you're saving up for your first home, you might be concerned about getting stuck in the rent-controlled apartment you're living in now and don't want to lose money by moving. So you put off upgrading your car for a time. If a new job offer came along and required a move across the country, you might have been worried about losing your stable income and health insurance.
Conclusion: Healthy fear makes us take a step back and reevaluate our goals to ensure they're still aligned with our values.
When you feel healthy fear, it's a good sign: it means you care enough about the future to make changes in your life. This is different from chronic worrying or being fearful of things that have no basis in reality, like getting hit by a bus every time you cross the street. This kind of fear is called "irrational" and can be crippling to your business, relationships, and daily life.