Fear! It had me! And I didn’t even know it. There’s a client in a situation that involves lawyers and an 800-pound gorilla corporation known for running over the little guys. I just wanted it to go away. So yesterday we strategized with the lawyer. Cleared out some cob webs. Got some ideas. But I just couldn’t settle down. Only last night did I recognize the symptoms that I’d felt during the meeting: the urge to walk away, that ugly feeling in the pit of my stomach, a whining background noise in my head “I don’t wanna!” Those are, for me, symptoms that mean I’m afraid. And fear makes it hard to think straight, to focus, to take action. It’s paralyzing. Simply recognizing it, and acknowledging that I’m not so tough, was a relief. Then up bubbled courage. And clarity. My next step: make the 4 phone calls. I can do that!
Then I realized that in a more subtle way, fear had kept me from blogging and tweeting and generally being in the online conversation. To break through that fear during yesterday morning’s workshop took several things.
- Learned some new facts about the context (64% of adults are involved in online conversations; only 15% of them are regularly creating new content – that inspired me!)
- Learned “tricks of the trade” and shortcuts – I was confused on some technical points that made me afraid to waste time and get nowhere – know the feeling?
- Mistakes are good. So is taking awhile to find your voice.
- I made a plan.
- During moments (okay, hours) of discomfort, I just kept doing one more thing. One more thing. One more thing. And the plan began to work.
Try these at home – break through any fear that is tying you up in knots and preventing you from taking on something new in your business! I’d love to hear what other people do to recognize and overcome fear.
