Fear

Fear is that little voice in your head that’s telling you that you can’t do it. Fear is something that prevents you from accomplishing YOUR goals.

For many of us, we fear that failure will demoralize us. Many of us will let fear win because it’s the easy way out. We will make up an excuse and sugar coat our fear in order to stay upbeat. Sure making an excuse will make you feel good for a few moments, but you are going to feel regret from backing out that’s going to outweigh that good feeling that you had. Soon your mind will be filled with “What if scenarios…”.

In order for us to prevent fear from winning, we all have to be willing to take a chance. We have to go out of our comfort zone and accept that failure is a possibility. Think of it this way, by not trying and making excuses, you’ve already failed. That’s why it’s important that you take a chance when you set a goal. By trying, you will have your answer and not have any regrets. You can go back and look at your results and build on that.

Below are some concepts that I use when I think of fear.

Confidence: Start a small goal, and cross it off your list. The moment you cross that off you will gain the satisfaction that you are AWESOME. It can be something like making your bed in the morning. As you gradually gain more confidence, begin to tackle some of the larger goals that you have may have in life.

Hold yourself accountable: Take a bet on yourself. By taking a bet on yourself, you will lose something that you value when you want to back out. Here’s one example. My friend and I both want to workout five times a week, but we always say that we don’t have time when we don’t reach that goal. In order to change that, I told my friend that I would give him $5 anytime I don’t hit my goal of working out 5x for the week. As a result he would do the same. This way, I can’t make an excuse anytime I’m lazy because I don’t want to pay my friend. In order to make this happen, I now wake up earlier just so I can find time.

Live everyday like it’s your last: You aren’t guaranteed your health in life and you don’t know how long you’ll live. That’s why it’s key that we do everything in our power to maximize that. We have to take a chance with our life and do something that we’ve always feared. We have to realize that a lot of people who aren’t healthy would do anything to get rid of their disease so that they can live without pain.

After reading Stuart Scott’s biography I’ve been living with this mindset. For those of you who don’t know his story, he was an ESPN sports anchor who had to battle cancer. No matter how much pain he was in, he would do anything in his power to work at ESPN, attend MMA classes, and most importantly devote time with his friends and family. If you haven’t seen his ESPY speech, I highly recommend that you take a look at it. It’s powerful and will inspire you. What’s amazing is that Stuart had to undergo surgery 4 times the week before his speech.

To anyone who may feel fear, I hope that this helps. If you think this is useful, I ask that you share it to someone who can use a boost in confidence.