I have a saying: Being an entrepreneur is a journey in personal development disguised as an entrepreneurial adventure. When we’re on an adventure, it’s normal to feel some fear — otherwise, it wouldn’t be an adventure. However, it’s important to be aware of mindsets that allow fear to prevent us from taking action. Part of the adventure is learning to face and overcome fear to accomplish what we’ve set out to achieve.
To face your fear, you have to realize you’re afraid. That seems obvious, but it’s not, especially when admitting fear is also frightening. Getting inside your own head can often be like trying to read the label from inside the peanut butter jar. It feels impossible. Often, a coach or someone “outside the jar” can be indispensable for deciphering the label.
By identifying the source of your fears, you’ve taken the first step toward flipping the script and forging a new path forward on your adventure. Here are four great ways to start overcoming the voice in your head telling you to give in to your fears and set up camp where you’re at.
1. Consider your thought options
How we feel is the number-one driver of how we react. The goal, the project, other people, the weather, they don’t control how we feel. Our thoughts about the goal, the project, other people, and the weather control our feelings.
We can learn how to change how we feel by learning how to choose our thoughts. We have thought options, and depending on the option we choose, we’ll feel a certain way. So we can choose a thought that doesn’t create fear.
2. Target the real problem
When I start working with a new coaching client, they’ll frequently start out by telling me all the details of what is going on and all their history. But I am notorious for cutting them short and asking, “So what’s the problem?” This is a showstopper because they usually can’t answer that question.
In the end, the real problem is almost invariably the fact that they don’t want to feel a negative feeling. Often, a negative feeling is the worst thing they can experience.
Want more tips? Download the FREE resources available in the Think Big Toolkit!
3. Embrace ambiguity
Uncertainty is a real and constant fear. Unfortunately, uncertainty and ambiguity are inherent in entrepreneurship. They never leave. You’ll always have the unknown…and even unknowns about the unknown!
Recognizing you’ll never have all the information is important. Especially when you consider all the skills, capabilities, and systems you have that have allowed you to make it this far. With this in mind, you can shift your thinking and begin looking forward to the unknown.
Wouldn’t it be boring to always know everything that is going to happen? Sometimes it’s so much more fun to just go with the flow and not control everything and trust that you will figure it out — because you always do!
4. Seek support
For entrepreneurs who constantly battle the fear of failure, mentors, coaches, and support networks can be vital sources of reassurance because they can support your efforts to explore new thought options, target the real problem, and embrace ambiguity.
Placing yourself within a community of peers, you give yourself opportunities to learn from others, watch their growth, and discover that what you’re experiencing probably isn’t as unique as you’d like to think.
Turn fear into fuel
To manage your fears, you must first identify what types of fear you’re experiencing. Once you know what you’re up against, you can start taking steps to overcome those fears and make a plan to leverage that knowledge into a roadmap for success.
If you want to continue to grow, celebrate your successes, move to the next level, and operate with ease, working with a business coach may be the next step in your entrepreneurial adventure.
Looking for quick access to some of the best tips and guidance I share with my clients on a daily basis?
If you’ve ever struggled with feeling unfulfilled on your journey as a female entrepreneur my book, She Thinks Big: The Entrepreneurial Woman’s Guide to Moving Past the Messy Middle and into the Extraordinary, is for you. The best part? I’ll show you exactly how to identify what’s holding you back so you can elevate your entire life to the next level.
Join the community of entrepreneurial women who are dedicated to moving the needle in their personal lives and in their businesses to achieve big, audacious goals and go beyond what they thought was possible to live an extraordinary life.
For MUST-HAVE planning tools that work seamlessly with the book to help you stop overthinking and make confident, quick decisions to get what you want — every single time, download my Think Big Toolkit. (I couldn’t fit everything in the book!)
