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There will be times in your life where fear is a very good thing. It’s healthy to have a little bit of fear about the right things. I’m thinking about burning houses, tigers chasing us, or our kids almost stepping out into traffic. In these moments a healthy dose of fear keeps us safe and kicks us straight into action.
But, how many times have you tried to kickstart your mind and body into action and instead felt completely stuck because of fear?
These kinds of situations are things like public speaking, or doing a live video for the first time, or launching a new business. These aren’t bad things, so why do we freeze like a deer in the headlights? I think that the reason why we freeze in the first place is because there is a disconnect between our mind and our body. Our mind tells us that it’s a good thing to expand our comfort zone but our body just can’t get convinced.
Sometimes, we walk away from these opportunities and other times we choose to act despite the fear. What do you do with your fears? Are you the kind of person who will feel the fear and still take action, or are you the type who has faced fear and walked in the other direction? It’s okay if you know you’re the second person! We all have those moments and there’s no judgement here.
Choosing to take action over fear is a step by step process. You do it little by little each time and you’ll notice that it gradually gets easier as time goes on. Your fears might never fully go away, but you can master them.
Now, the question is: why master fear in the first place?! It’s comfortable to stay in your place doing the things that are familiar. It’s easy to stay in your comfort zone and it feels nice. Why would any of us want to leave that place?!
I hear ya!
I think people are wired to be challenged. We like learning new things and teaching each other. We explore, experiment and enjoy the feeling we get when we accomplish something difficult. I don’t think we were made to do the same thing day in and day out. It may be comfortable, but it gets a bit boring.
Taking action despite feeling fear will instantly transform your life.
Yes, instantly.
Let me tell you why.
Instant Transformation #1: You can Release Yourself From the Self-Made Prison
Your fear has stopped you from trying something new for years. You’ve always walked away from opportunities that might have required that you get out there and just do it. You’re not that kind of person, you tell yourself. Someone else can do it better than I can, you think.
Sound familiar?
When fear of doing something is causing you to avoid things in life, you are living in a self-made prison. You are letting your fear control what you do and how you live your life. It may feel like you’re in control but if it’s stopping you from living your best life, it’s really controlling you.
The good news is, you can get that control back.
The moment that you step out and do something that scares you, you’re releasing yourself from that control. You now have the choice to go back into the prison cell, or stay on the outside where freedom abounds.
The choice is yours.
Instant Transformation #2: Your Confidence Will Get an Immediate Boost
Think about the last time you did something that completely terrified you. How did you feel the moment you started taking action? Yes, you might have still felt wobbly in the knees and your tongue might have stuck to the roof of your mouth like a desert man looking for water, but I’m willing to bet you also felt a little bit more brave and a lot more confident.
We all have the ability to feel confident in ourselves, it’s just fear that tells us we should feel small. When you choose action over fear, you’re proving to yourself that you really can do the thing you set out to do and that’s a major confidence booster.
Even if you try something and feel like it failed miserably, you can still feel confidence. Let’s take the example of public speaking. Say you spoke somewhere and you felt like it didn’t go well at all. Maybe you stuttered a bit or stumbled over your notes. After the talk is over you vow that you will never ever do something so humiliating ever again.
If this is you, please refer back to #1. Don’t let yourself get stuck in the self-made prison.
If you failed before, see it as a learning opportunity and try again. You may not be perfect the first, second, third or even fourth time but each time you do try, you’re staying outside of the prison AND proving to yourself that you can get better.
That’s how your confidence will grow.
Instant Transformation #3: You’ll Have Better Posture
I always notice that after someone does something that scared them, they are standing a little taller, smiling a little bigger and filled with energy. When you do something you thought you couldn’t do, you not only feel confident inside, it shows on the outside too.
Think about it, when we’re feeling sad or insecure, our body language begins to mirror our inward feelings. We slump and try to make ourselves look small because inwardly, we feel we aren’t worth anyone’s attention.
Stepping out of your comfort zone will give you a bit of your confidence back and your posture will thank you for it!
There is an adrenaline rush that gives you a burst of energy afterwards and you’ll feel happier knowing you did something you really, honestly and truly believed you could not do. Your ability to overcome your fear makes you feel more capable and that causes you to stand with confidence. You can smile bigger because you learned the most important thing there is to know: that you’ve got this.
When I ran my own staffing promotions company, I saw countless new models come off the runway with the biggest smiles in the world because they had just done their first show and had nailed it. They were bursting with confidence and pride at what they had achieved. Seeing the smiles on their faces was the absolute best part for me. My heart would burst knowing that they were coming off that runway stronger than when they went on.
If you’re unsure of how to get into action right now, think about these instant results that will happen just because you faced fear head on. There are so many other results that will happen as well, these are just the ones that you’ll notice immediately. Some slower results will include: reaching your goals and achieving success, but those can only come if you challenge yourself to continually face your fears in new ways.
Visualize how you’ll feel on the other side of fear and then walk forward knowing that there is nothing but good on the other side of your fear.
The only way to move out of fear is to move into action.
Connect the Dots
Answer these three questions to figure out where your fear is and how it’s stopping you.
- What fear has taken root in your life lately?
- How has this fear stopped you from taking action?
- How can you start facing that fear in a small way today?
Remember, baby steps will get you to your goal too and each time you face your fear, even in a small way, you’ll be boosting that confidence more and more!
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