Have your fears literally been calling the shots in your business? Do you have limiting beliefs that are standing between you and the kind of business you could have?
As a fellow entrepreneur I know first-hand what fear feels like and the effect that this can have on your business as a whole. The great news is that although fear might be calling the shots right now, it isn’t the end. (Thankfully!)
Here’s one proven method to never let fear hold you back in your business again:
Fear prevents us from doing all the things and having all the experiences we really want to have in life. If you’re terrified of being judged or rejected by your dream clients, then that is going to hinder you from networking with prospective clients at a conference or approaching them at all.
If you are afraid to put yourself out there online (or offline) and be seen because you don’t want anyone to see the vulnerable side of who you are then that is going to severely impact your ability to show up (if you show up at all) in your business.
Fears are very real and though they can prevent us from forming valuable relationships, connecting without clients and achieving the goals we have set for ourselves as entrepreneurs, they really don’t have to.
Fear Vs. Excitement
For almost twenty years, my fear of talking to people, not being liked by people, not being good enough to serve others and not feeling worthy of a higher calling, took me down a very dark, lonely path where I was constantly sabotaging my own chances of success.
This all changed once I recognized what was happening and took steps to change that.
Many of us don’t know this, but our body’s reaction to fear and our body’s reaction to being excited about something happening is actually one and the same.
When you feel afraid or excited, your heart starts racing, your palms get sweaty, the adrenaline starts pumping and before you realize it, you’re ready to go. The only real difference between these two reactions are the thoughts that go through your mind.
If I’m excited about seeing one of my clients in a one-on-one session, my mind races, my heart beats quickly and I’m thinking “I love this! I’m excited and I am ready to serve!”. But when I’m afraid, the same thing happens. My heart beats quickly, my mind races and I’m thinking, “Oh my goodness! What have I gotten myself into? This is so bad!”
It’s the same circumstances but different thoughts and thus we have two completely different outcomes. So that means that the key to stopping fear is to get your brain from a place of being afraid where your mind is saying “no, no, no!” to a place where your brain is excited, and your mind is saying. “go, go, go!”
We essentially want to trick our brains into thinking that when we’re feeling afraid that we’re super excited.
2 Simple Steps to Overcome the Fears
Step 1: Create Your Anchor Thought
Whenever you have something to do in your business, such as meeting with a possible investor or doing an in-person training, the first thing you’re going to do is to come with your anchor thought.
This anchor thought is a positive thought that is directly linked to the activity or task you’re about to take on.
If your task is to do a public speech, for example, your anchor thought could be - “I’m really excited about this speech and I can’t wait to deliver it.”
A simple, clear thought is what works best for this step and that thought must be directly linked to the task you’re about to accomplish.
Whether you’re about to do a sales call, meet a client, or conduct an interview on a podcast, chose an anchor thought that relates directly to this.
Step 2: Use The 5-Second Rule
Now that you’ve created your anchor thought you’re ready to knock your fear off guard by ignoring the irrational, “caveman” parts of your brain and tapping into the rational, logical parts.
You do this by using the five-second rule. If you’ve never heard of Mel Robbins, the five-second rule is essentially you counting down from five to one in an attempt to get yourself out of obsessive thinking mode into the act now, get things done mode.
The five-second rule is basically the same as throwing a pie into someone else’s face. It disrupts their thoughts and gets them to act.
Combining Steps One and Two
Here’s how steps one and two work together:
Imagine that you’re about to do a presentation in front of a thousand potential clients. Your heart is racing, palms are sweaty, breath is heavy, and you are thinking about everything that could possibly go wrong.
Start counting down 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and once you get to one, repeat your anchor thought as many times as you need to.
Think about how excited you are to do the presentation. Think about how excited you are to share your offer and connect with every person sitting in that auditorium. Think about how amazing it will be to potentially attract new clients for your business.
Final Thoughts
You’ll realize that something starts to happen after you do this exercise. Your brain starts to believe that you’re truly excited about doing the speech. This happens because your body is already in a state of excitement/fear so all you needed to do was to change your thoughts. Once you change your thoughts, everything else changes as well.
The next time you have something scary to do, try this exercise then come back here and tell me how it went. Fear doesn’t have to call the shots. Fear doesn’t have to hold you back anymore.
Author Bio: Hi! My name is Daeyna and I’m a Confidence Restoration Coach for online entrepreneurs. I work with people who are tired of being held back by what others think, tired of being afraid to speak their truth with confidence and who feel like they will never be as good as everyone else. I help them get free of head games and finally live their lives with boldness!
Website: https://daeyna.com