How to Overcome Your Fears and Take the Risk
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. -Wayne Gretzky” -Michael Scott
Imagine this — you have the most brilliant idea that in time might lead to big things for you, pave the way to your dream career, let you express your true passions! You are so excited you begin working on it, you put your heart and soul into something you are suddenly so passionate about. It feels right, it feels like the one thing you have been feeling was at your fingertips but could never reach.
You feel a weight lifted off of your shoulders because you feel like this is the first step to reaching your dreams. For the first time, you have a better picture of what you want for your life and it feels comforting.
So know you have the idea and the drive but unwanted thoughts start poking around your head, What if people don’t like it? What if I look bad? What if it’s not as good as I think it is? What will people think? What if it doesn’t work and I fail?
At this point, you don’t know if you should continue with your project or quit because of the fear that your “what if this” and “what if that” questions come true.
You end up not following through with it and wonder for the rest of your life what would have been if you went through with it and had followed your passion and intuition.
Many people struggle with this inner conflict all the time. It is more common for an individual to quit because of the anxiety it elicits in them than to follow through with their idea.
The reason for this is that one of the scariest things to do for most people is putting yourself out there despite what other people think. The fear of being criticized, shamed, or put down for something you feel so strongly about is scary.
I mean no matter how confident you are no one wants to be told their ideas suck and what they're doing is useless. We all want to be accepted, loved, and supported not put down for what we are truly passionate about.
When we quit due to an internal conflict it is usually because we either begin to doubt ourselves or fear the opinions of others.
If you doubt yourself in regards to something your passionate about you will never be able to achieve your dreams. This is because doubting yourself is an indication that you might be doubting what you are passionate about. Or you know you are passionate about it but don’t believe you are capable of getting where you want to.
When we fear the opinions of others it can hold us back from literally accomplishing our dreams simply based on the idea that others might not agree with us.
Both doubting yourself and the opinions of others are huge mental blocks to get over. However, this is far from impossible and highly obtainable.
Let’s go back to the questions from earlier. I am going to go through them one by one so that the next time they pop into your mind you can remember that it’s just fear and anxiety talking not reality.
What if people don’t like it?
No matter what you do there will always be people who don’t like it or who are not supportive of it. However, it’s usually because they are either jealous that you had the guts to put yourself out there, what you are doing makes them feel unaccomplished, or it doesn’t align with their belief system.
Either way, it doesn’t matter where their opinions are coming from. If what you are doing comes from your deepest passions and feels 100% right to do, then that’s all that matters. As long as you love it and are doing it for the right reasons then the hate and nonsupports will be insignificant.
Plus if you love and believe in what you are doing you will begin to attract more people to your idea that will support you. However, you have to be the person that puts that energy in first.
What if I look bad?
How will you know if you look bad if you don’t ever try it? This goes along with the last question as well so you can use most of it for this question.
Additionally, if you are worried about the way you look then your priorities are in the wrong place. To be blunt, if you are worried about how your image will be affected that is an ego problem. I understand it, I had issues with it when starting this blog and other times in my life. However, once you work on getting over the need to fit a specific appearance you will realize how much easier it is to not just take that next step but live life authentically!
What if it’s not as good as I think it is?
Again, how will you know if you don’t even TRY! I know the hardest part is just pushing that one button or making that one phone call to turn your idea into a reality but you might as well go for it!
If it ends up not being as good as you thought, take a step back and brainstorm what you can do better the next time. Getting creative with ideas and concepts is not a one and done type of thing. You will make mistakes and you will need to adjust things as you go. If it’s not as good as you thought it would be then what can you change to get it to that vision?
What if it doesn’t work and I fail?
In its simplest explanation, then you fail. As I said above, the process of taking these creative risks is a learning process. They can’t all be successful because then you would never learn anything new.
Also, failing isn’t truly failing. Your idea might have failed but you haven’t unless you decide to give up. However, failing will always teach you a lesson that will help guide you in your next steps. When looking at it this way failing can never be completely bad.
It also means that what you are currently doing might not be in your highest good for your life’s purpose. So listen to what you need to learn and take that into your next idea.
Taking the risk can be scary but the fear can be overcome. It’s all a mental game, your only opponent is yourself. When those doubts creep into your mind pause and reflect on what is bringing them up. Are they real or are they just another obstacle to get around?
Be gentle and patient with yourself. If you are truly not ready to take that next step then give yourself more time to work through your fears so you can take the step. Everything happens when it is supposed to, there is no need to force an idea if it’s not ready.
However, don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re not ready either. Most of the time we are more ready than we think. The only thing holding us back is our own confidence in ourselves.
This is your sign to go for it.
Sincerely,
Skylar Rae
