Fear... that crippling voice telling you that you can’t do something, that gut feeling urging you to run for the mountains. We’ve all been there. Whilst reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic, which I’d honestly recommend to anyone who wants to live out their full potential in life – one thing stood out to me the most, which is that fear will always be there.
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Using a prominent metaphor of driving a car whilst chasing our dreams, Elizabeth Gilbert highlighted that fear will always be in the car with you. Fear is an instinctual response we have as humans which we have to protect us from danger, so it’s about accepting it and realising that it will always be present regardless. However, as Gilbert states, it’s about forcing fear to take the backseat whilst you allow creativity to be the front passenger whilst you drive the car. As fear usually takes over when it comes to us wanting to pursue our goals and dreams, I felt like it was a good idea to write up a post on how to tackle fear like a BOSS
Recognise
A big part of owning fear is recognising and understanding what fear looks like to you. More often than not, fear is disguised as excuses. For that fashion line you want to start, fear might look like the following: “I’ll start it next year when I’m in a better financial position” or even “I don’t have the time to do this today, I’ll start tomorrow”. However, sometimes you’ll have to dig a little deeper to find out the particular fears that are causing these excuses. Fear of failure is usually quite common when it comes to pursuing our dreams, however these deep rooted fears may look different from person to person. Recognising what fear looks like for you is the first step towards owning and tackling it.
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Define What Success Looks Like (For You)
I’m pretty sure that the majority of you have a vision of what you want your life to look like 10 years from now. Really taking time out to identify the things you want and defining what success looks like to you will help when the excuses (fear in disguise) start to kick in. When you know there is something you truly want, and excuses start popping up left right and centre – you’ll know it’s fear talking. Having a clear idea of what success looks like to you will keep you focused, on track and better able to tackle your fear.
Create Small Goals And Targets
Sometimes when we think about the end goal which more often than not is overwhelmingly huge, fear fosters up the most. Fear may kick in and tell you that your goal is unrealistic or not achievable. This is why it’s important to create little steps which lead you to your desired destination. If you’re doing a little something each day which leads you to your final goal, you’ll be better able to manage fear.
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More often than not, people around you feed into your fears. When those around you tell you that something is unrealistic, or not possible they’re judging you off of their own deep rooted fears. When you feel fearful yourself, having added noise which reinforces these thoughts and feelings isn’t helpful. Once you realise that a lot of advice others give when it comes to chasing your goals is actually based off fear, you’ll realise how some people around are holding you back. You’ve got to cancel out the noise and remind yourself that this is what YOU want and you’re going to go for it anyway. It’s about having the unwavering belief that what you want will be yours regardless.
Feel the Fear and do it anyway
At the end of the day you just have to ignore your doubts and go for it anyway, as it will always be a part of your journey. It’s about not letting your excuses dictate your actions. Your excuses want to keep you in your comfort zone, but in order to move forward you’ve got to ignore them. Like Gilbert said, fear will always be there as it’s a human instinct to keep us safe – however you’ve got to OWN fear and not let it stop you from progressing.
Words By: Malika Isles
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