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Who hasn’t experienced a moment of insecurity? You may fear the failure of a new venture. You may even be fearful of what might happen if you succeed!
The current pandemic has certainly triggered fear on many levels for most of us. The voice of fear tells you to keep quiet and to stay within your comfort zone. But fear can also motivate you.
Fear is really a secondary emotion, not a primary one, which makes it hard to address. If you don’t know the root cause, how can you tackle it?
That’s why it’s necessary to know your fear, so that you can understand where it comes from. For example, your fear of growing your business might be a symptom of your desire to keep control of your current life as it is.
Your fear of public speaking (#1 on the world’s list of fears) might be a symptom of insecurities–you worry that you aren’t expert enough or prepared enough to give a fluent speech.
The key is to identify your primary response to a situation, and then change–or at least, examine–it. When you really consider the root of your fear, you can determine if it comes from insecurity, sense of loss, need for control, or discomfort with uncertainty.
Once you honestly identify your primary response, you start to know your fear more intimately. Then you can equip yourself with information and experiences to fearlessly manage change in your life. Think about and act on your fear instead of simply reacting to it.
Leadership excellence is rooted in that fearless confidence that your hard work will pave a new, brighter path for you and your team. But “fearless” doesn’t mean that you can never feel fear– it means you must know your fear.
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Learn more about what defines an excellent leader in 7 Moments… that Define Excellent Leaders.