Fear Isn’t the Enemy. Lack of Self-Leadership Is

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Fear of failure.
Fear of success.
Fear of judgement.
Fear of being wrong.
Fear of being right.

It shows up in different ways, but the conclusion is usually the same: Fear is the problem.

That thinking gives fear control that it doesn’t deserve.

Fear is not the problem.
How you lead yourself when fear shows up is what determines the outcome.

Fear Is a Signal, Not a Weapon

In Outwitting the Devil, Napoleon Hill discusses with the ‘devil’ that fear is used as a weapon to control human behaviour.

It is an interesting perspective.
But it gives too much authority to fear.

Fear only has influence when you give it permission.

It will show up when:

• Something matters
• Something is uncertain
• Something is new and requires growth

The issue is not that fear appears.
The issue is what happens next.

I experienced this first-hand when I was starting my own business. Even though I had 40 years of experience as a leader in business, from the shop floor to a senior manager at a large retail organisation, I felt fear every day. 

Fear that I knew nothing, and fear of putting myself out there as someone who could help others, even though this was what I had been doing throughout my career.

I decided I needed to develop a healthy relationship with fear. Fear and I are good friends now and have very productive conversations most days. 

I stopped trying to eliminate fear and started learning from it.

Read more here, starting with Where Self-Leadership Breaks Down