Fear.
It’s one of the few emotions that can stop us, frozen in our tracks.
Fear in the right situations makes sense.
It helps keep us stay safe when things don’t seem quite right.
It’s the gut feel that stops us from trusting someone, or that nags us to ask better questions.
But it can also show up in unwanted ways.
Such as imposter syndrome when we feel like we aren’t succeeding fast enough. You know those questions of “Am I good enough?”, “Do I even know what I’m doing?”, “What if someone has already done this?”, “Isn’t there someone more qualified who should be doing this?”, the ones that make your stomach churn and leave your thoughts racing. It makes us want to quit, to stay in our comfort zone, and leave our dreams as dreams.
Fear can also show up as something even worse. Fear can show up as inaction. Where we are completely frozen. Unable to make decisions. Unable to take the next step. Stuck in an unending pattern of second-guessing ourselves and where every day starts feeling like groundhog day.
It almost sounds like a version of living hell right? When I think about the times I’ve felt like this I know I was not in a happy place…
But there are two things you need to acknowledge your fear, and succeed despite it.
The first thing you need is self-confidence. Self-confidence is the ultimate weapon against impostor syndrome. It’s not a “fake it until you make it” attitude. It goes a lot further than that. It’s about knowing your strengths, knowing your purpose, what drives you, and knowing that with every decision that you make no matter the outcome you’ll be okay. It’s one of the key reasons that I work with leaders and business owners on their self-confidence, because I know that unlocking this as a strength helps them keep forward momentum. Even when things get scary, or stressful.
The second thing you need is clarity. One of the common fears that pops up is the fear of making the wrong decision, or choosing the wrong opportunity. The only way to overcome this fear is to develop a clear vision and a plan that outlines each step you need to take that you can refer to anytime something pops up. You can then ask yourself, does this activity push me further towards my goals or is it simply a shiny distraction? That way you can rest assured that every decision you make is pushing you closer towards your end goals. Even if that means saying no and honouring your own boundaries. Clarity helps you find the fastest and simplest route to your goals, and also makes it easier to say no to the things that don’t serve you. A vision and a plan, like I build with my 1:1 Executive and Luminous Leader coaching clients, helps you avoid inaction, keeps you on track and work through the fear that comes with making big life decisions.
With self-confidence mastered, and a newfound clarity you become absolutely unstoppable.
And the best way to gain these skills is to have someone to turn to when you have these difficult decisions to make, someone who can guide you through the process, keep you focused on your end goal, and help pull you out of inaction when the fear starts creeping up.
If you need help taking the next step in your business or leadership journey I would love to help you get there.
The Luminous Leader coaching program designed to do just that. I’d love to hear from you if you are curious to know more, send me an email with the title ‘luminous’ and we can take it from there…
