Monday was my first day of classes at Texas Christian University. It was a pretty normal day with professors handing out schedules for the semester and making the students aware of what was expected of us in the weeks to come. Not a big deal, right? Wrong! I walked into one class and the professor starts throwing out words that I didn't fully understand and talking about types and amounts of work that were expected. Everything in me was screaming "you are not capable of this!" I got very scared, very fast! Once I had the thought that I couldn’t do it, I didn’t really hear anything the professor said after that. Fear took over my perspective. I couldn’t see the trees for the forest, if you will, the forest being my fear and doubts and the trees being what was truly demanded and my actual capabilities.
How many times does this happen when a client hands you a new project? Maybe you fear that you are not going to be able to measure up to their expectations. It could be a situation in your personal life where you have a great idea but are too fearful that you will not be able to succeed. Once we let fear take the drivers seat, we lose any chance of seeing reality with any perspective. Everything you see is colored by that fear. I was ready to drop this class and figure out a new option that would be easier, safer, something that I felt more sure of being able to accomplish, but a good friend of mine suggested that I give it one more shot and see what it was really about. She told me to take a step back and simply breathe. So that is what I did. I took a deep breath and walked back into that classroom. What I found was not nearly as scary as I remember thinking. Once I removed the fear I was battling, I was able to see more clearly.
Regardless of whether it's business or personal, once you let fear tell you that you are not capable, you won’t be. The power of belief is unbelievable! So I would say to you: “Take a step back and simply breathe.” Once you have done this, take another look before you walk away defeated because chances are you really can do it.
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1 comment:
Way to go on overcoming your fear! Your blog about fear reminded me about the book I'm reading, Tribes by Seth Godin where he devoted a chapter about Fear. He included the statement in his book: "Fear of failure is actually overrated as an excuse." He goes on to say that "What people are afraid of isn't failure. It's blame. Criticism. We choose not to be remarkable because we're worried about criticism." I encourage you all read this book and learn more about challenging yourself to be remarkable!
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