Are you tired of limiting yourself in certain areas – like your work?
Years ago, I realized I had been letting fear hold me back.
I needed to call a prospective client to arrange our next step – and I had hesitated for weeks.
This specific client was in the audience when I presented a keynote, “Managing Constant Change with Calm and Clarity.”
After my speech, he introduced himself, said he benefitted a great deal from the interactive workshop, and asked if I would follow up with him.
I reached out and did not hear back immediately.
Rather than trying again, I began crafting a story in my head that he had changed his mind.
When I finally heard back, he said he had been thinking about me and wanted to schedule a series of workshops for improving productivity and engagement.
And, since science says my work and your work impacts thousands, I was holding thousands of people back – by not calling him.
Why did I hesitate? What was in the way of my taking action?
It was simply a belief: “He might not see the value of my work.”
Total B.S. = Belief System, and B.S. = not true.
Beliefs are thoughts that you keep thinking; they are made-up ideas, your “truth”.
They are the software of your brain, installed years ago, reinforced thousands of times by your thinking.
Unless your belief supports the best version of yourself, it is a LIE. It is rooted in fear.
The truth = “My work (your work) is valuable; I have results to prove it,” is your freedom.
The way I got to the truth: I acted and then looked at my fear – so it wouldn’t happen again.
My result: I booked a workshop where I directly impacted hundreds – none of whom I would have come into contact with if I had allowed my fear to hold me back.
By looking at my fear, and realizing I made up a story, I could see how to limit my fear.
How do I combat my fear now? With two steps:
1. Act. Do the thing you fear, do it NOW.
As the saying goes, “Do the thing you fear, and the death of fear is certain.”
To limit procrastination use GIT – “Give It Ten” (10 minutes) to get it done:
– Set a timer for 10 minutes.
– Do what you fear – do the work, take the action NOW – focus 100% on it.
– When the timer goes off, reset the timer, and keep going until you finish.
2. Recognize your fear. Name it for exactly what it is. Is it a situation, person, thing?
Write about what you feared. This practice will strengthen your self-awareness.
Self-awareness frees you from repeating mistakes that hold you back.
You may need to reverse the steps - name your fear first, then act - but don’t use this as an excuse to stop.
Keep going!
Get over your fear.
Do it now – get it done.
This is how to stop limiting yourself.
This is your freedom.
“Do the thing you fear most, and the death of fear is certain.” Mark Twain
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