How To Embrace Your Fears To Achieve What You Want
- Brainz Magazine
- Jan 20, 2022
- 5 min read
Written by: Jodie Gallant, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
It’s still hard to believe 2022 is here, isn’t it? Somehow, 2021 flew by, yet was the longest year ever. The good news is, I have found that the tough times often provide us the lessons and gifts we need most to grow and for me, a lot of it was about facing my fears.
I was forced into facing so many of my fears last year, whether death, separation, release of old identities, acknowledgment, and accountability of where I’ve been holding myself back and owning that honesty. I’m not going to lie…facing these fears was HARD, but I had to face them head-on, and sit in that uneasiness to learn more about myself. I encourage you to do the same.
Fear is a powerful force. It helps us stay alive and prevents us from doing stupid stuff. However, it’s also a very limiting mental block that can prevent you from achieving the life you want. Fear has the power to kill your ambitions, goals, and dreams. Fear creates excuses that seem legitimate enough that you’ll stop taking action and go back to your comfort zone.
The problem is that most of these fears are subconscious, so it isn’t always easy to identify what type of fears are holding you back. Without consciously being aware of it myself, fear had quite a grip on my life.
It was the main reason why I wasn’t working on the highest value activities that would help me achieve my goals. Fear was sabotaging my success.
Thankfully, in facing some of my worst fears, I learned that all the fears were not as hard as the belief and narrative I had established in my mind.
I moved through my fears; sat in them; looked closely at them; and then moved beyond.
I’ve since learned to use fear as a compass for action, and it now helps me navigate what I should be doing and where I should be going with my life and business.
There is a much greater beauty beyond the fear that was quite frankly not real beyond my internal story.
There are 3 common types of fear stopping you from achieving your best life
1. Fear of Rejection
We’ve all been rejected in our lives, and it hurts. It makes us feel inadequate. It lowers our self-esteem and confidence. Unfortunately, the fear of rejection causes many people to give up on their dreams and ambitions. They adopt and hang onto the same bad habits that keep them stagnant in order not to get rejected.
2. Fear of Failure
The fear of failure can be so paralyzing that people simply decide to procrastinate over and over again, even though they continue talking about their goals. The payoff for procrastinating is that we protect ourselves from ‘real’ failure, because as long as we don’t put in the necessary effort for success, we’re at least not confronted by ‘real’ failure.
3. Fear of Success
Most people don’t expect to see this on this list. If you’re reading this article, then you’re all about creating a successful life and you’re already putting in the effort to make this happen. Yet, subconsciously, it’s possible to fear the success you are striving for.
You may be afraid because your friends or family will reject you if you have a totally different lifestyle compared to them, or you know you’ll have to drop some old behaviors and habits. Maybe you fear success because you’re afraid of getting more responsibilities and expectations. There can be so many reasons why success is scary.
Here are 7 ways to overcome your fears.
Step 1: Realize Everyone Has Fears
It’s human nature. Many people are afraid of something, but they simply don’t show it. Know that you are not alone.
Step 2: Identify and Write Down Your Fears
Write down exactly everything you are afraid of. Be as specific as possible. Also, label to which of the three categories your fear belongs. Sometimes, a fear can belong to multiple categories.
Step 3: Identify and Write Down The (Realistic) Worst Case Scenario
Whenever we feel fear, our mind will greatly overestimate the worst-case scenario. Therefore, we need to identify our REALISTIC worst-case scenario beforehand, and write it down. This way, we can refer back to rationality in moments of irrationality. You’ll likely see that the rational, realistic worst-case scenario is not as bad as your mind made it in moments of irrationality.
Step 4: Identify Your Fears in The Moment and Focus on Gratitude
Whenever you feel fearful, become truly aware of what type of fear it is. Identify if it’s a familiar fear and place it in one of the three categories we talked about. This awareness alone will disarm fear to such a degree that it will no longer have such a strong grip on you.
Gratitude changes your perspective to what is rather than what is not. It is a quick way to release fear. Honestly, just saying the word gratitude out loud with a breath can immediately reduce anxiety and bring you present.
Step 5: Look forward
Sit, meditate, and ask your future self what to do. This can also be viewed as looking at your vision. What does that vision look like if it were to become reality? This is where things get real when facing and moving through your fears. When you don’t know the answer, your vision does.
Step 6: Create an Affirmation
Write down an affirmation of a few sentences that combines steps 2, 3 and 5. Read this whenever you feel your fears coming up. You can also read this daily as part of your morning routine to start your day fearless (fearing less).
An example: I am a successful mother/leader/business owner making a solid impact to elevate my community/family/team to thrive, with support, with risks, and with dedication to deliver the highest version of myself.
Step 7: Take Action
Action kills fear. Inaction and procrastination feed fear. Take massive action and your mental blocks will become weaker.
Sometimes the action can begin with just sharing your fear with one trusted person out loud and holding a safe conversation around it. When we release our fears verbally, they seem to dissipate right before us.
Embrace the fears to allow for growth and your new story could start today!
To dive into this more, tune in to my To the Point Podcast where I’ve dedicated an entire episode to eliminating fear.
If you could use more support and want to explore working with me, I’d love to talk with you. Schedule a discover call today or visit JodieGallant.com.
*Jodie is a 2021 Brainz Global 500 Award Honoree
Jodie Gallant, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Business Strategist and Coach for JMG Business Strategy, Jodie Gallant, uses her experience in marketing and planning, paired with owning 5 NH local businesses while raising a vibrant family, to inspire, lead, and support entrepreneurs to achieve the life they desire through the design of their business. Having left a secure 15-year corporate marketing and leadership career in 2012 to build two family businesses alongside her husband and three small children, Jodie quickly realized the hustle and grind was not going to work. Today she guides her clients to achieve their goals with the support of the strategies and tools she lives by. Jodie is the host and curator of the Connect Mastermind for ambitious female leaders, offers 1:1 Coaching for high-performers, and is the host of the To The Point Podcast.
