Embracing Insecurity -The Hidden Fuel Behind Entrepreneurial Success

The word “insecurity” itself is so powerful that its absence or excess can make or break you. It's a feeling that everyone gets at some point, or it happens often in various phrases, from professional to personal activities. Insecurity is a common thing everyone knows, and there’s a perception that says there is nothing to talk about it.

But hang on a there, let me express this from a different perspective and point of view of an entrepreneur.

What is insecurity? How is it different from usual security in an entrepreneur’s mind? Is it a bad or a good thing? Can we avoid it, or should we avoid it? What are the positive sides, and what are the downsides? What’s the impact of having its absence? And what’s the impact if it gets overburdening?

How do we differentiate between stages, how do we separate them, and most importantly, how do we channel it?

Let's figure it out!

Insecurity is a feeling of fear when you think or assume that you are losing control over something. Insecurity is a feeling when someone or something challenges your safe zone or comfort zone without being expressive about it.

We, as humans, talk about innovations, find new obsessions, and keep challenging ourselves, but ironically, we are the opposite! We have designed ourselves as per the expectations of our society and our family. Not only this, but also, we have set patterns that we follow, and keep on repeating as well as passing them on to the next generation.

I mean, when it comes to following certain footprints set for us, we get insecure. Not all of us, some might feel comfortable and happy, but others just stay in the race just for the sake of it. Often, we end up creating a comfort zone around ourselves, and when somebody or something tries to invade it, our inner self gets scared and starts resisting, and this resistance converts into insecurity—whether it's a job, relationship, or work. Insecurity can hit you at any moment.

What’s the secret behind this?

Let's talk from an entrepreneur's perspective. When we set a goal or an expectation, we do planning, gather information and data, and start working to achieve it. In the initial stage, we are driven by passion. In most cases, we see only the positive side at first.?

Research does not include the negative side, and we avoid any hiccups on the way. You set a pattern for yourself or your team, and you are on to it.

All set! Your journey towards success and hiccups.

But at a certain stage or time, it stops working, it's no longer valid. Something new comes up, some bigger player emerges, and tells you that you are outdated and need to change.?

Someone better challenge everything you’ve planned. Initially, you don’t care, but over time, it starts affecting you because it challenges your comfort zone. You did not think beyond it; you are stuck in the comfort zone.

Then, a sense of fear or insecurity starts creeping in, and it gets stronger and stronger while your productivity hits the wrong nodes.?

You start worrying about the future of your company, and eventually, you lose your mind or get into depression.?

There could be different scenarios for everyone; accordingly, you can just correlate.

So how does this impact?

What if there is no insecurity?

For real? Yes, there can be such a case, but it only happens if you are super confident and have super trust in something.?

It is only possible when all things are going positively, or you are very comfortable or adjust beyond the outcome and accept it neutrally.

But how often does that happen? Rarely! So, if there is no insecurity or fear, that means there is something strongly going to be wrong in the long run, something that is not visible now or maybe something you don’t want to see at that moment.?

It means you are not innovating, you are not readying yourself to adapt to changes, and you are not getting future-ready.

From a different perspective, insecurity means you are constantly evolving, you are smart enough, and you keep fixing things.

When Insecurity Becomes Overwhelming

Now, let's discuss what happens when insecurity grows out of control and starts being a burden.

What does excess mean?

When insecurity grows beyond control, it leads to depression.

It starts affecting your mental health and self-belief and makes you doubt yourself. It starts hitting your self-esteem.?

Growing insecurity puts you in a negative direction that can be fatal, and you might take extreme steps. Now, how do we balance it and minimize it?

I have been an entrepreneur for more than 10 years, bootstrapping my IT company with lots of ups and downs, yet surviving.

?It took a lot of years to understand insecurity and its intensity. And how to finally balance it all and use it in the right direction.

Now, I spend entire days communicating with the team, planning, working with clients, etc.

This is my world so far. However, before becoming an entrepreneur, my life journey was full of doubts, insecurity, low self-esteem, and a lot of self-doubts.?

I had no idea what insecurity was, how to define it, why it came to me, and how to handle it.

However, for me to keep moving forward in business, insecurity has played an important role.

When I had no idea how to treat it, I felt helpless. But then, I consciously started identifying and channeling it.

Sailing Through Insecurity

Coming this far does not mean my journey was smooth. I have been through extreme insecurity and depression, and I sailed through. It is always around??

I am not talking about telling everyone how to handle it. All I want to do is communicate how insecurity played a good role in my life; that’s how I became an entrepreneur.

In the upcoming piece, I am going to share how I dealt with Insecurity and how you can too.?

Stay tuned for the best process that worked like wonders for me.

Also read - Breaking the Loop: The Power of Clarity