Is this fear keeping you safe?
Or is it the kind of fear that’s preventing you from being your best?
Learn to differentiate between the two.
Tag / fear
Courage is a skill
Seth Godin has arguably one of the best ideas for getting a project started that you’ll ever read. It’s called “First, ten.”
The idea is to share what you’ve created—a book, podcast, newsletter, business idea, whatever—with 10 people who already know and trust you. And if it’s good, they’ll share it with three, five, or ten others. Soon, your idea will spread, and you’ll have the opportunity to do it again.
But sometimes, even that is too terrifying to contemplate. So what can you do instead?
Find a single person. Just one person who loves you unconditionally and whom you trust implicitly. Maybe it’s your sister, your mom, or your best friend.
Share it with them. Not because they’ll praise you for it or because they’ll share it widely. Do it simply to show your fear who’s boss.
Stretch that courage muscle by starting as small as possible. Because bravery is a skill. It can be learned through practice and repetition.
Fear keeps the majority out of power
It only takes one person for something evil to occur. For example, one of the reasons many authoritarian countries haven’t changed their regime already is that the vast majority of people live in fear of the handful of people who would commit evil on behalf of the leaders.
This is a question of power. If every single person in the country realized that they only have power because they can get other people to do bad things, the leaders would no longer be in power.
The flipside of that is that it only requires one person being willing to harm or kill another for these people to be able to keep their power.
It’s contagious—one person begets another person willing to commit harm (or too scared to refuse). Pretty soon, a tiny minority of people grows who are willing to commit evil to keep this one person in power.
Because not everyone says no, the minority rules, and the majority seems powerless. As such, the people who are in the majority must seemingly be willing to face death at the hands of the minority to effect change.
Let regret guide you
Don’t let it paralyze you.
If you failed to do something through inaction, hesitation, or indecision, remember the feeling of regret it left in your gut.
Not to punish yourself or
Another opportunity of some kind will come your way, and you’ll feel hesitant or indecisive again. But if you remember the regret you felt the last time, you’ll realize how much better you’ll feel this time if you act.
Use it to make better decisions in the future.
Courage starts with you
It’s tempting to ask why people who have more power than you don’t use that power to change the situation.
But what about you? Why can’t you muster the courage to write a letter, make a phone call, or attend an event?
If you’re afraid to do something small in service to the change you want to make, how can you possibly expect someone else to do something bigger and potentially more consequential?
Often, the bigger the impact an action has, the more courage is required to act.
So, you must start small. Start with yourself, with the small things you know you can do.
Be brave in the little moments to model courage for others when the big moments come.
Start with one
One person. Just help one person with whatever skill you have, whatever problem she has.
This one act doesn’t have to dictate the entire course of your life, business, career, or whatever else you’re worried about.
Nor do you have to plan everything perfectly from the start. No need to create a business plan, figure out all the courses and certifications you need to take, or get an accountant on retainer. At least not right now.
The important thing is to start. Help this one person in front of you.
If it goes well, then you can decide whether to help another in the same way. Or not.
One decision doesn’t have to dictate every other decision that follows.
Fear = excitement
The physiological reactions we experience when we’re afraid (racing pulse, sweaty palms, lightheadedness) are the same as those we feel when we’re excited.
Fear, therefore, can be reframed as a form of excitement.
How might you act differently if you told yourself you were excited about this new possibility rather than frightened by it?
H/t to Peter Shepherd and Jen Waldman for this idea.
Generosity is the antidote to fear
Instead of focusing on how risky something feels, focus instead on how generous you’re being.
Subscribe to receive the blog directly in your inbox!
What you want to work vs. what actually works
Most of us often go about a task in a way that we want it to work…
Rather than by doing the things that actually get results.
It seems counterintuitive. Why wouldn’t we do things that work if the things we’re currently doing don’t work?
It’s not because we don’t want to succeed.
It’s because the things that work are hard.
Getting a job is like that. What people want to do is shotgun resumés to hundreds of companies, hoping they’ll pick us for a job. But your chance of success with this approach is almost zero.
It’s just easier—and less scary—than what actually gets jobs.
- Making connections at companies in which you’re interested in working.
- Cold-calling recruiters or team leaders.
- Walking into businesses and asking to speak with the managers.
- Asking friends for leads.
These strategies actually get jobs more often than not.
But to do them, you have to put yourself out there. You’re on a limb. Operating without a net. Whatever metaphor you want to use.
It’s scary because it’s hard.
But it also works.
For more daily musings like this, subscribe below:
Action brings clarity (not thinking)
You can sit and think all you want… Contemplating your next step, figuring out all the possible outcomes, anticipating roadblocks.
But eventually, you’ll have to do something.
And most of the time, that sort of thinking is just procrastination. And it usually happens because we’re scared to take action.
Ideas aren’t eggs. Sitting on them doesn’t help them hatch.
If you want to figure out if something is right or possible or good for you, try it and see what happens.
Don’t leave without subscribing!
Nathan's Blog 