5 Bold Ways You Can Overcome Fear and Live with Confidence

It’s amazing how much time can go by when we live with fear and hesitate to make decisions. What starts as a one or two day struggle can quickly balloon to weeks and even months. We may need an awakening — some change agent that provides a spark to get us going. After all, when our approach isn’t working, it’s a wise idea to shift course and try some alternatives. This is how we grow.

What have you done when you find yourself in a funk?

Overcome by fear, and not sure what to do next? Maybe you have some struggles with how to move forward. I’ve found myself playing the “What if” game, at times, about future plans. This is common and to do so is human. To some extent, we all fear the unknown and we can all get concerned about what’s coming up next in our lives.

The difference between those who live with greater emotional and mental health and those who struggle with clarity is the conscious choice to focus energy on the moment and immerse yourself in the things that matter most to you. When we stop worrying about the future and focus instead on the present, we develop greater confidence and conviction about how to live and lead.

I find it’s better to talk things out and think big picture about the life we truly want. Not what we fear or what we think we want.

I’ve synthesized my thoughts and provided five ways all of us can eliminate the time of each down period or rut we go through, and to power forward with the advantage of lessons learned and personal growth. Here are five ways to become more productive and happier mentally by minimizing these down times:

1. Change your Surroundings

Many of the toughest, most critical decisions that I’ve made in my life have come after a time of self-reflection or simple relaxation. Time where I got away from my primary surroundings and allowed new, fresh information and thoughts to enter my mind. I needed this geography shift. It served as a mental cleansing and re-calibration of my thoughts and desires.

One way to grow in this area is simply by spending some time outside in nature, particularly in solitude. Take this thought from a study by Stanford University professor, Gregory N. Bratman: “In a study , led by Bratman, time in nature was found to have a positive effect on mood and aspects of cognitive function, including working memory, as well as a dampening effect on anxiety.” Source: Stanford University

2. Exercise

We should never underestimate the importance of physical exercise. This includes cardiovascular exercise, weight lifting, and any methods we can take to increase our heart rate, improve our muscular strength and push ourselves to new physical limits. This helps us increase our energy, which is vitally important for living a more focused, successful life.

Dr. Scott McGinnis, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School found the following :

“Regular exercise associated with a reduced risk of depression and anxiety… it slows cognitive decline and may reduce the risk of dementia. “There is good evidence that exercise behaves like medicine to improve brain health and thinking skills.”

3. Talk It Out

We benefit tremendously when we talk about our issues, feelings and emotions with someone we trust. In my life, those people have been my wife, my mother, brothers and father. At times, it's been trusted colleagues and leaders in my earlier career. I’ve been blessed to have a great support system of family, friends and trusted advisors. For you, it could be those people, but it could also be a friend or trusted adviser in academia or the workplace.

There’s immense therapeutic value and growth waiting for us when we can connect with a mentor, champion of ours or someone who can give us feedback and guidance. At times, we just want that person to listen to us. We’re interdependent creatures meant to share our experiences and situations with others. Not only will we grow, but in the process we can help others grow. Don’t internalize your situation at the risk of your mental well-being. That’s not smart or tough. It’s foolish. Have the courage to talk through and work through fears.

4. Stop Sweating Things that Don't Matter

Sometimes, our stubbornness or lack of action gets in the way. Could be that something is bogging you down that in reality, is only in your head and nothing worth fretting over. Find time for reflection, which is where you increase your self-awareness. We need to ask ourselves questions and understand why we're feeling the way we do in an effort to come out with solutions and steps to change our direction.

Having the discipline to think strategically and focus on the root cause and a plan forward is the sign of a courageous, growing person. In fact, it’s within this idea of having a strategic thought life that we are able to ascertain the importance of what is truly good for us, and what things are simply dead weight and bad for us. These bad things included wallowing in doubt, fear or continuing down bad thought paths due to a rut or down time.

“According to a 2015 study out of Florida State University, participants with lots of willpower — the ones who said they have “iron self-discipline” and resist things that are bad for them — also take more steps to minimize the temptation they encounter in daily life. Source: Greater Good Magazine .”

5. Try Something New to Change Your Daily Routine

I’ll start out this lesson with a curve ball — change for the sake of change is pointless. When you have a routine or way of doing things that works, there’s no need to change. But when you’re in a rut and unsure of why things are the way they are, you have to seek out answers. You have to explore new opportunities and processes that will inspire you.

You have to change.

Many of you follow a daily routine, whether you know it or not. You get up at a set time. Brush your teeth, walk the dog, make your breakfast, check your phone, scroll social media etc. Then you’re out the door or you're flipping your laptop screen open to begin your work day. Do you have a game plan? Do you take the time to ask yourself whether your routine is actually working?

It may not be.

And you may need this rut or down time to help you make sense of that.

Your productivity will increase exponentially when you become more focused around root causes for why you’re not succeeding. Once you know the basis for why you do what you do — and why you’re not living the life you want — the picture will become clearer for how to begin to build a new routine that will yield results. Don’t let your routine consume you. Be willing to change when you know there’s something deeper and bolder out there.

And I’ll finish with this:

Think about what matters most to you — energize and inspire your mind to think more passionately and creatively. Don’t get bogged down by a daily routine or way of doing things that is no longer working. Think about solutions. Truly practice deep thinking that’s focused on solving problems. You’ll find your answers a lot sooner.

Please consider sharing this on LinkedIn and with friends and colleagues and visit me on my website to learn more about my work with leaders and organizations: chrisdconnors.com Welcome to The Champion Leader Movement! Hit the subscribe button to receive this newsletter each week.

Christopher D. Connors is the author of The Champion Leader: https://amzn.to/4aIeJaw . He is also the creator of top LinkedIn Learning course, Leading with Emotional Intelligence . He's a keynote speaker, executive coach, and globally recognized expert on emotional intelligence. Christopher consults with executives and leaders at Fortune 1000 companies.