5 Steps To Eliminate Fear And Self Doubt

5 Steps To Eliminate Fear And Self Doubt

I love talking about eliminating fear and self-doubt because it’s the number 1 biggest hangup for those who want to step into entrepreneur shoes.

When I see someone press through and take action in spite of how they feel, I want to give them a standing ovation.

Hopefully today I can give you a little boost in the right direction and help you have a better understanding of where fear and self-doubt come from and how you can move forward toward that which you want to accomplish in spite of it.

Our Brains Are Computers

You know, most likely, you and I grew up in school where entrepreneurship wasn’t taught, nor were our parents and teachers taught this stuff.  So we end up adopting their beliefs about money, working and success.

As a general rule, we are told success is for “other people” or that “money is evil” or that “money is hard to come by” or that “the only way to finance your life is through a job working for someone else”.

All our life we are groomed to be an employee.  We graduate from high school and incur tremendous amounts of debts to get a college degree so we can work 40+ hours a week until we’re 65 and have only taken a vacation once or twice a year.  And, our dreams are still on the shelf.

Nowadays, there’s no such thing as job security or guarantee, in fact, as you know, the employment situation is a mess.

Well, how is that game plan working?  It’s not.

For those individuals who truly do not want have any part of entrepreneurship, they are totally ok with the concept of get a job and work your whole life, then kudos to them.  This is not to knock that process.

It’s to say that the decision was made for us the day we were born about how we could perceive this life, our success, matters of money and the only way to survive.  Most were not given any opportunity to dream, explore entrepreneurship, learn about money working for us so we can work 20 hours a week, retire at 30 and generate multiple streams of income.

Traditional and conventional methods for making money has come from society putting the fear and self-doubt in us from the time we are born.

At birth our brains, our computers, are empty.  It’s a clean slate.  Then the programming begins.

• Our parents telling us to school and get a job or starve and be homeless.
• Our teachers telling us the same thing.
• Our day care workers telling us the same thing when we were children.
• People putting down our inner desires for entrepreneurship who want to crush our spirits and dreams.
• It’s passed down from generation to generation.

Entrepreneurship is not taught in schools… only how to become an employee.

So let’s look at some NEW THINKING to make sense of it all.

You know, here’s the truth.  Once you are aware of a problem and ADMIT it’s a problem, then you can ADDRESS the problem.  So this blog is about recognizing the problem and seeing what you can do to be an overcomer.

We need to re-program our brain!

 

5 Steps to Eliminate Fear and Self-Doubt

If you will follow these and truly understand and grasp what I’m suggesting, you will see a definite improvement in your results.

 

1)  Accept and understand that fear and self-doubt are going to be there.

Be very clear… fear and self-doubt don’t just go away after a certain period of time.

These emotions are natural and normal and every human being has them.  Our bodies are designed for self-preservation and our subconscious mind protects us at all costs which is where the feelings are being birthed.

I just wrote a blog about self-preservation if you’d like to learn more about how our subconscious mind protects us and doesn’t allow us to succeed until and unless we recognize what’s going on within ourselves so we know how to respond.  I called the blog “How to Conquer Self-Sabotage“.  I think you’ll enjoy it and hopefully it sheds some light on why you or someone you know is self sabotaging their success.  It’s fascinating.

So number 1 is to acknowledge that fear and self-doubt are going to be there.

Therefore, as you journey out into the world to be more, do more, have more, and fear and self-doubt arise, it doesn’t mean don’t proceed.  Just acknowledge the emotions and understand they are normal.  They are healthy.  Your body is doing what it’s suppose to do.  Continue with your research, planning and vision for your life and future and discover the benefits you receive in return should you decide to say YES.  We’ll talk more about that in a moment.

Seems simple enough, yes?  Just acknowledge the feelings and understand every entrepreneur has them.  They don’t go away.

2)  How you deal with fear and self-doubt are critical.

This is what truly separates the entrepreneurial actions.  In number 1 above, I shared with you how every human and entrepreneur encounters fear and self-doubt and to simply acknowledge it.

The next step is getting a handle on how to deal with fear and self-doubt.

What do most people do?

• They run as fast as they can away from the feeling and back to where they are comfortable.
• They quit.
• They say no.
• They walk away from their dreams and a future.
• They feel like they have no options.
• They get discouraged and become hopeless.

I can tell you from studying, learning from my mentors and through my own experience mentoring dozens of new entrepreneurs,  this is why 98% of people fail in their home based business.

They have no understanding of the fear and self-doubt they are experiencing nor has anyone helped them to get a handle on it.

What happens is they believe they are just inadequate or different or that something is wrong with them.  Nobody ever told them,

“Hey John, you’ll gonna have these feelings, they are normal, expect them and know what you’re still a superstar, and here’s what you do to work through them to get to where you’re going.”

There’s no bigger picture for them to see so they just quit.  They figure fear and self doubt means “I can’t do this”.  And that’s just not true!

What they need is a mentor to show them that they are normal, what they are experiencing is totally OK and give them the awareness so they can just keep going.

How you deal with it is to simply DECIDE in favor of yourself and take action in spite of the fear and self-doubt.

There’s no simple pill or potion that can ease the uncomfortableness (if that’s a word) of getting started toward your success and the action steps that must be taken.  There’s no EASY button to push and the fears all go away.

3)  Use fear and self-doubt as a guide.

In number 2 above, I shared with you how fear and self-doubt causes 98% of new entrepreneurs to run away and give up on their dreams.

The good news is now what you know these emotions are normal, they are healthy, and you must take action in spite of them, you know you have two options.

You can choose to run and quit.

That’s simple enough.  Everyone can do that easily.  No pain or sweat in that decision other than the loss of a future you deserve.

You can act in spite of them.

After you have determined what the cause of the fear and self-doubt is and it’s simply you being fearful of success, you can go ahead with your plans.

THINK FIRST…..

When these emotions pop up and you hear that little voice in your head saying, “ah, I don’t know about this…”, here’s where you need to step back and take a look at it as impartially as you can.

Are you feeling this way because it’s truly a bad decision to move forward? 

Or are you feeling this way because you’re just afraid of failure or what other may think of you? 

Two separate situations going on here.

If it’s a truly bad decision, then allow that to be our guide.

If it’s truly a good decision, you’re just scared to death, you will find strength enough to act in spite of it because that’s what entrepreneurs do.  It’s what individuals do who want something bad enough.

One is being smart and cautious.. the other is dangerous to your future to hesitate.

So again, these emotions can drag you down or help you get where you want to go.

4)  Risk vs. Reward

Hopefully the following illustration will give you a new way to look at life and seeking out opportunities.

We all place a  “what’s it worth?” on the table when we have an opportunity to do something grand.  It doesn’t matter what it is really.  There’s always a risk vs. reward in things we really want to do.

I heard this from Sean Donahoe and it’s really a great illustration.

Let’ say I told you that tomorrow I’m going to call you up on stage to speak for 1 hour on business and there’s 10,000 people in attendance.

If you’re like most people, you’re gonna take a couple steps backwards, throw your arms and up and say “no way dude!”  And you won’t give it a thought.  It’s a natural response to something uncomfortable.

Then I tell you if you’ll do that, I’ll give you $100,000.

Well, now, you’re probably back tracking the decision you made just 30 seconds ago.  And you’re thinking maybe… for $100,000,  you can talk for an hour.

Will you be scared stiff?  Probably, yeah.

Will your knees and hands and voice shake?  Probably, yeah.

Will you have to run to the bathroom before going on stage?  Probably, yeah.

Will you feel like you want to pass out?  Probably, yeah.

But the reward of $100,000 is greater than the fear of getting on stage and looking like a fool.

When you can put perspective on what the reward is for doing that what you deem as a risk, you’re going to press through being uncomfortable, fear and self-doubt and do what you NEED to do to.

This is why new entrepreneurs are told to get their “WHY” written out with clarity.  If starting a business is just about paying the rent and electric bill or buying a car, heck, you can do that without having a business.

But if you’re WHY is much BIGGER than what you can do without the business, you’ll do what you need to do to get your business not only off the ground, but thrive.

You see if the reward is worth it, we can push ourselves outside our comfort zone into an area where there’s slightly more risk.

So many people have their thermometer set for the “cheapest, lowest, free stuff” rather than putting on an entrepreneur hat and really assessing what they are considering and saying confidently, ” you know if I do just a little bit more, the return is so much greater.  Let’s go for it and expect great results”.

Get started with a business with passion and belief, knowing you are worthy of success and give it all you’ve got.  Run fast and enjoy the journey!

Ask yourself… what’s the worse, the absolute worse that can happen if I join a business opportunity and then decide to do nothing?

Is it life changing?  No.

You’ll still be alive.  You’ll still be living your life surrounded by those you love most.  Heck, most people spend more on junk food, entertainment, gaming, and even bad habits than they ever do on a business opportunity and self education to improve their situation.

So to be fair…on the flip side, what if you end up pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and applying yourself in business in spite of your fears and self-doubts?

What if you ended up on a path creating a life beyond anything you can dream?

It’s a decision you have to face every time an opportunity comes along.

• What’s the risk and how will that affect my life?
• What’s the rewards and how will that affect my life?
• What will cost me if I say no and give up?
• What will cost me if I say no because I’m just too scared?

Don’t the day come when you start living in regrets.  Life goes by so fast, we are but a whisper in time.

5)  Monitor and Defuse Negative Imprints

What is a negative imprint?

– It’s when you say to your friend or family,

“Hey, I’m going to create a better life for myself and start my own business” …

…and their response is…

“oh, you better not do that, those are scams.  You’re a fool if you do.“

The negative imprint is it’s a scam and you’re a fool.  So you may back away and decide against yourself and your dreams.

– It’s the file in your subconscious where your parents and teachers repeatedly told you to…

“Get good grades in school so you can get a good college education so you can get a good job and work until you’re retired and then you may be too old to enjoy it, but you’ll have retirement money to sustain you…. hopefully…. from that time until you die”. 

The negative imprint is your belief that getting a job is the only answer to your survival. So you may back away and decide against yourself and your dreams.

I’m not suggesting you not listen to their opinion, however, consider the source.

• Consider their financial situation.
• Consider their business education.
• Consider their entrepreneurial mindset.

In most cases, your family and friends have not had anyone inspire or encourage them to dream.  And to plan for the manifestation of those dreams.

They haven’t engulfed themselves in personal development or financial and business classes or studied and mentored and coached with those who have what they want.

In most cases, it hasn’t crossed their mind.

So be very careful who you get advice from and what you accept as your belief system.

So when it comes to fear and self-doubt, recognize it for what it’s worth then make your own decision and act in spite of it.  You’ll make the best decision based on risk v. reward and it actually gets exciting.

Business is like a game.  And big money and lifestyle is at stake.

Eliminate Fear and Self-Doubt Summary

1)  Your fears and self-doubt are normal.  There’s nothing wrong with you and we all have these same feelings.

2)  Press through and take action anyway.   Don’t run or quit.

3)  Use fear and self-doubt as a guide.  Be caution and eyes wide open, identify the source of emotion and then proceed.

4)  Weight the risk vs. reward.  If the reward is big enough, you’ll be amazed how you can walk on glass or through fire to do what you need to do regardless of how scared silly you are.

5)  Let the past negative imprints go and don’t create new ones.  Be very careful what advice you listen to and store away in your brain.

I believe in you!

Hold your shoulders back, stand tall, share your story and you will change lives!

PS:  Looking for a way to make money with an online business?  Click Here

Images are courtesy of Stuart Miles, Farconville, Victor Habbock and  renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net