I remember years ago sitting at my desk shaking with fear.
Anyone would have thought my life was in danger.
It wasn't. I had to make a call to a potential new distributor of our products. It would be a big contract. We needed it.
I kept telling myself, what's the worst that could happen? They say no and I have to find another option. Big deal. But at the time it truly felt physically terrifying.
I started considering what a profound effect my fear as an introvert and as someone who doesn't like confrontation or not being liked, has had on my lack of success in various entrepreneurial adventures. I was destined to fail no matter the business, the product or service or how hard I worked. I was operating each endeavour from a place of self doubt and fear.
Business after business, I had been operating in a state of fear. A fear of failure, a fear of success (yep, crazy right?), a fear of being rejected, a fear of being criticised, fear, fear, fear.
I was done feeling like that. It was time to turn this around.
So how can you recognise if fear is sabotaging your business? If you answer yes to any of the questions below, it's time to fire your fear as the boss and stop sabotaging the success you are destined for.
Are you ever ...
1. Too nervous to cold call a potential client / customer not wanting them to think of you as 'salesy'?
2. Afraid to standout doing webinars, workshops, in-store demos for fear of looking stupid or getting negative feedback?
3. Fearful that as your business grows you may not be able to provide the same service, more great products, manage your money properly?
We've got to learn how to turn up everyday, no matter the challenges and face the fear, stare it down and move it out so our self confidence and determination can shine through. It's in there, it's just that the fear and doubt is louder and much pushier I've found, if you'll let it.
How can we do this?
The most powerful way I discovered not long after my day of terror and overwhelm is Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT / Tapping) where our meridian acupressure points can be lightly tapped to move those fears and doubts out of our energy and thoughts. You can literally feel your emotions changing as you go through the process.
So, we ...
1. Actively seek out our fears, every one of them lurking in our sub-conscious so we can focus on them.
2. We write them down, explore the layers of negative emotions.
3. Acknowledge they are there from past messages, looks and responses from the people around us and then use a key word or phrase on each tapping point to overcome it.
Following this process will cause big shifts in the confidence you'll have every day and the possibilities that will open up when fear is no longer making the rules.