One of my favorite TV shows is Josh Gate’s Expedition Unknown. In this show Josh travels the world looking for historical wonders. The month of October, for instance, was spent traveling through the Himalayas, climbing to the top of vast mountains never touched by humans to see if he could find the mysterious Yeti. Some would say that he is crazy, doing things that are truly live endangering. Others say, “Gee, I wish I were right there with him.” But regardless of how you feel about what Josh does, I can almost guarantee that there are times in your own life where you are faced with doing something that, to you, might be “life endangering”, or at least scary as Hell. Am I right?
Ok, at this point you’re thinking I’m the crazy one, right? But I’ll bet that, especially if you’re a business owner, there have been times when you’ve wondered what decision to make, which way to turn directions in your business, should you (or shouldn’t you) do something and it’s kept you up at night. I have gone through thousands of boxes of Tums just trying to avoid that ulcer that I DO have unfortunately.
What things keep you up at night? Do they make your stomach churn? Keep your mind flipping and flopping with different scenarios? I often have dreams where I’m falling off the side of a mountain, but then suddenly I sprout wings and am soaring higher and higher. At that point I know that the thing I’ve been worrying about has just been decided, and I’m ready to either move forward with it or am going to put it to the side – “I’ll think about that tomorrow”, so to speak.
Fear is something that we all have to deal with on some level at some time. What you fear might not be what I fear or vice versa but we all have things that we’d just rather not think about. And as a business owner, there are LOTS of different things that can scare us to pieces – and those fears can hold us captive, not allowing us to move forward with our dreams.
Whether that fear is a fear of failure, or success, or getting up in front of someone to talk (I can keep on naming things), trust me I’ve had my share. I’m working on them right now on several levels. It is really amazing what can happen when you realize just exactly what that fear is doing to you and what you need to do to get over it. A good example for me is one I’ve used before and you’ve probably done yourself. I love to get in the water in the summer, and just lay back, relaxing while I float way the tenseness. But getting in is another story. That water (no matter how warm the air is) is dang COLD!!!!! I stick in one toe, pull it back, stick it in, shiver, pull it back and then, grab my nose and ……. JUMP. It’s the only way to get in and once I’m in, the water feels so nice and relaxing.
Do you start your journey by sticking in one toe, then pulling it back out? Or, do you jump in? There’s a saying that goes something like Success = feeling the fear but doing it anyway. That’s easier said than done, but you’re only going to be successful if you do it. Now there is a caveat to that, and that is only do it if you know it’s the right thing. Being afraid of something, and knowing its right – only holding you back due to the fear is different than knowing that it’s not the right thing to do.
Now, how do you tell the difference? We’ve been talking about this for a couple of newsletters lately. A couple of great ways to discover the reason for the fear, is to be part of a peer advisory board, a mastermind program, having a mentor, or a good friend and confidant that understands business issues. Stepping back and getting a 365 degree view of the situation gives you the ability to see the whole picture and lets you better figure out what to do.
By sharing your thoughts with someone else that “gets” it and you, then you have something to bounce your thoughts off of, and gives you the courage to either do it or to say no. It’s always easier for me to take that jump into the water if there’s someone either already in, telling me that the water’s nice, or someone that goes in beside me, holding my hand and saying “Let’s do it together.”
We all have times when we are afraid. Often, Josh talks about being claustrophobic, yet we see him crawling, climbing, squeezing into small, dark, wet spaces – all in the name of discovering something fantastic (and for the tv ratings, lol). So, the next time you find yourself stalled, trying to figure out what to do next, ask yourself “is this a fear that I need to get over, or is it one that I need to heed – moving on to other things?
I wish you luck with your decisions, and know that when you don’t allow the fear to take over, but instead fight through it, you’ll come out the other side stronger, more resilient and with a business that is non-destructible. Until next time, Soar Higher.
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