Don't Let Fear Hold You Back

" Half the failures of this world arise from pulling in one's horse as he is leaping.“
~ Augustus Hare

How often is fear holding you back from what you really want – in business, in your relationships, in your goals? Fear is the most paralyzing emotion going. Fear serves a useful purpose; to ensure that we look at consequences before plowing ahead without due consideration. It’s a protective instinct, but one that’s gotten out of hand in a society geared
toward “success” in narrowly defined norms.

The step that too many of us hesitate to take is that of taking the fear apart. If you’re considering a big new move, say, a new job, what’s the worst that can happen? Can you live with that? How much of the fear is around letting go of what is familiar, though the familiar may in fact be sapping your life energy from you? What’s the best that can happen? Are the odds pretty good? Are you willing to wade through your fear and risk the quantified downside for the quantified upside? What are the chances that you’ll get that upside if you don’t take action? Are you willing to live without that opportunity? When might it come again? How will you feel about it when you’re 80, sitting on your rocking chair on the front porch? Have you had fear you’ve conquered before? What were the results? Has fear held you back before? Are you content with the results of having let it hold you back?

I know that for me, fear held me back for a long time in making the move from Boston to the Rockies. The key thing that I discovered on a recent trip back to Boston was that you can’t move forward while you’re holding on to what’s behind you. I tried so hard to create a new life for myself while not letting go of my real estate career, friends, house and social life in New England. It doesn’t work. Like a kid in a toy store, if you keep picking up fun new toys without putting any down, pretty soon you’ll drop something and some things may break and you’ll have to pay for them, even if you don’t get to play with them.

Letting go means having faith that you’re creating space for new wonderful things to come into the vacuum. It does work this way! That doesn’t mean that fear doesn’t present itself again in each new situation, perhaps in a new disguise. But trusting yourself to define what you want, and let go of what you no longer have room for will help you to move through the fear more quickly.

Think about it this month. Start small – what are three things you haven’t pursued because of fear? Pick one and take whatever action is called for to move it forward. Figure out what you need to let go of to take that action, and have faith that it’s OK to let go now. Let me know what happens!

It’s Almost Over!

Unbelievable – the holidays are almost here, which means 1998 is close to its end. Did your business meet the goals you’d set for it? Do you have the information available to really analyze that question? What are the targets you’d like to hit in 1999, in terms of new customers, profitability, expansion? Do you have all the resources you need to make those goals happen? I have a number of tools available to help you with assessing where your business is now, things to do before year-end, and to plan for 1999. Give me a call or ask me at your next session if you’d be interested in getting some help in these areas.

© Copyright Magellan Enterprises, all rights reserved

Reach Me: Telephone: (970) 259-4847; Fax: (970) 259-4874
E-mail: ginger@magellangj.com
Web: www.magellangj.com

Please recommend this E-Zine to anyone you know that is interested in getting more out of their career or their life (It's a good way to stay in touch with clients, too.)

PRIVACY STATEMENT: We will not distribute your address to anyone. Period.