What are you afraid of doing?
Fear keeps me from moving forward.
Sometimes that’s exactly right. When I’m hiking on a high ridge, looking down at a one-hundred-foot drop, my fear might tell me I need to find another way around!
But in my life, fear is most often keeping me from doing the significant and impactful things that I am called to do but that are outside my comfort zone.
Over the last year, I’ve been observing my fear because I no longer want it to stand in the way of the important things I’m called to do.
I’ve been looking for times when I’m afraid, how it feels, and what I do about it.
I’m working with a theory that there are only two kinds of fear:
1. Fear of physical harm – hunger, injury, physical attack or abuse, fear of heights, or claustrophobia are all examples in this category.
I feel like these fears are pretty straightforward. My family chose not to take a vacation to a particular city because of a rash of kidnappings and robberies. We were afraid for our safety!
2. Fear of emotional harm – loss of status, embarrassment, broken relationships or disappointing others are all examples of this category.
If my new service offering fails to attract customers, I might have to lay off some of my team. Their families depend on the income I provide, and they would think I’m a loser who’s not good at my job. The fear of their feelings toward me holds back my decision.
But I’m sure I have not considered all the fears out there!
Would you do me a favor? Would you hit reply and tell me something you are afraid of? What’s holding you back from doing the next right thing toward building your business or improving your life?
Anything you’d be willing to share would be a massive help to me.
In the meantime, I’m going to share some of my fears with you over the next couple of days.
