Does fear keep hold you back from creating what you truly want in your life and business?
As a life and business coach, I hear people's fears day in and day out (and have faced many of my own). Yet I am still surprised by how much we allow fear to hold us back.
I recently asked the CEO of Your Life community what their No. 1 challenge is in starting their own business.
I expected things like SEO, product pricing, sales, building a website, marketing, etc.
But believe it or not, every single response focused on fear....
"I fear I will fail."
"I fear I'm not good enough."
"I fear people's reaction to my business."
"I fear I don't have the skills or experience to be successful."
"I fear others are better than me and constantly wonder if I should be doing this."
Sound familiar?
It did to me. I faced many similar fears starting my own business.
Why is conquering fear so important?
To create what you want, you must direct the full force of your thoughts and actions towards it. When fear takes over, energy becomes divided. You are unable to focus it. Your cells do not understand sarcasm. You must give them clear and consistent directions, so they can align with you and work with you to create the life you truly want.
But fear is a powerful force. How do you overcome it? How do you take fear out of the equation and redirect that negative energy towards a positive outcome?
Here are five fear-busting techniques I use. I hope they will help guide you in breaking free of your fears.
1. Face your fear... fully and directly.
Ask yourself, "What is truly bugging me? What does my worst fear look like? What is the worst case scenario of my worst fear?"
Mine was starting a business as a single mom. What if I didn't make it? What if I couldn't pay my mortgage? What if I couldn't provide for my son?
Imagine your fear come to life. Visualize it fully. Look it in the eye and refuse to blink.
Facing it fully removes its power. By standing up to it, you make yourself stronger than the fear. You open yourself up to the possibility of denying fear power over your thoughts and actions.
2. Ask yourself... why is this fear showing up?
All emotions happen for a reason. Your fear is trying to protect you; to keep you in a safe place.
Have a conversation with your fear. Visualize it as something or someone. Some people refer to this as "the gremlin" or "the saboteur". What does yours look like? What do you notice about it?
Inspired by Taming Your Gremlin, I visualize mine as gremlins. After acknowledging what my gremlins have to say, I tell them I appreciate their concern, but choose not to listen to them. Then I send them off to Peru. I tell them to go hang out with the shamans and get enlightened because their voices are not helping me move forward.
What are your gremlins telling you? What would you like to tell them?
3. Accept that this fear is part of you, and love that part of you.
If a young child were scared, would you be hard on them, scold them, or allow them to continue living in fear? No. You would give them love and reassurance to help them overcome their fear and realize it is just an illusion they are creating.
Fear is a constricting energy that can destroy you and your dreams. Love is an energy that fuels, rebuilds and encourages you.
Treat your frightened self like a young child. Acknowledge your fear, accept it as part of yourself, and give it love. When you give your fear love, you prevent it from controlling your thoughts and actions, and help yourself become stronger.
I literally tell myself, "I love that part of me that is scared." When I give myself love like I would a newborn child, I see my fear dissipating and being taken over by a beautiful outcome.
4. Burn it
Some people prefer to literally see their fears transform. If that's you, I recommend burning your fears.
Yes, burn them. Write them out on paper and burn them.
As they burn, say "I release you." In doing this, you will feel a shift in your emotions.
Fire consumes. Fire transforms. Burning your fears shifts your energies. It destroys the energy of what you no longer want and opens up the energy of what you do want.
Just remember to play it safe with the fire :-)
5. Connect to your highest self, or repeat a positive affirmation.
Close your eyes. Breathe deeply. Connect with your higher self. I call this your Captain. It's the part of you that is clear and knowing. The part that loves you unconditionally and believes in you completely.
Ask your Captain, "What message do you have for me? What are my next steps?"
Listen to your Captain. It will guide you towards your highest path.
If you aren't ready for your Captain, another technique I use is to put my hand over my heart and say, "my life is working for me." Saying this aligns everything to literally work for me. Choose an affirmation that feels right for you.
When you feel fear taking over, preventing you from moving forward, make a conscious choice not to allow it. Choose to steer all your cells in the same direction. Face your fear. Tame your gremlins. Burn your fears. Give them unconditional love. Allow your highest self to take over and have the courage to steer your life and business in the direction you truly want.
Now that you are ready to conquer your fears, how about taking more steps towards creating a life and business you are orgasmically joyful about? Get the 9 steps.
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