CHANGE: Embrace It or Fear It

The only thing which is constant in life is “CHANGE”

Unfortunately, most people are afraid of change. But if we are pursuing anything new, we need to travel unknown territory where we’ve never been. And the fear of entering that new space stops most people dead in their tracks.

So, I want to share the learning that has helped me to overcome the fear of change. But first, let me make sure we’re clear on what causes fear.

Where it is coming from?

The two main reasons for the origin of fear are previous bad experiences or lack of knowledge.

Most of your fear is only in your mind and will never come true. And since it’s a mental process, you can use your mind to stop it and live a more satisfying life. That’s why the saying goes “Fear is a product of your mind.”

Here are techniques that have helped me to overcome the fear of change:

1. Confront your fear

When you back away from a fear-inducing situation or person, your fear grows larger and larger until you deal with it. However, if you face the fear, it will leave you. Your ability to confront and act despite your fears is the key to your mental freedom. It makes you happier and allows you to become more successful.

My biggest fear was about public speaking or giving a presentation to Class. I still remember during my schooling & college days, I used to give lots of excuses to avoid talking in front of the class. During college days, you can still get a good grade even if you are not top of this skill. But things may not remain the same in the corporate setting. Being from a technical background, in the formative year of my carrier I was enjoying the technical aspect of the carrier growth. But reality struck as I start having more years of experience. The expectation from management started growing, starting from handling the project, mentoring the junior, dealing with the customer. This skill set of public speaking has become a bottleneck for the carrier Growth.

Finally, I decided to overcome this by joining the public speaking workshop under wonderful mentorship. Initial I have dreaded experience of the public speaking assignment. But eventually with regular practice, encouragement from the team, proper mentorship, I have overcome my fear. My biggest fear has now turned to be my biggest Dream of “Motivational speaker to impact society.” 

When you decide to face any fear-inducing situation, you automatically grow—your self-esteem increases, your confidence goes up, and you become more courageous.

2. Educate Yourself

We might have heard this phrase “knowledge is power”. Fear is usually caused by ignorance, or not knowing the right thing. If your fear is based on a lack of right information, you need to examine the situation based on facts rather than speculation.

Most of the time, we did not do the particular task/work for two reasons, either we don’t think it is important or we don’t know how to do it. In both cases educating ourselves with the right fact can open up new possibilities.

Change is going to happen whether we’re ready or not

The good thing is if we are the instigators of change in our life that means we’re not just accepting life as it comes. We are pushing ourselves, doing things that make us grow.

But frequently, the changes we face are going to happen whether we like it or not.

The question is: How do we respond to these changes? Do we lean into them, or do we resist or avoid them? Because the truth is, the most dangerous place you can live is in your comfort zone because there is no growth there. To grow, we must do the thing we think we cannot do. We must look our fear in the face and walk right through it. Otherwise, we allow fear to sabotage our success.

“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.”