Fear Is A Creation Of The Mind

Fear is a creation of the mind.

“FEAR”, otherwise known as False Evidence Appearing Real is restricting your leadership effectiveness and keeping you from achieving your goals.

To be clear, there are situations in life where fear is real and protects us from bodily or emotional harm. We call this “acute” fear.

It's a normal emotion that heightens our awareness and along with a quick, shot of adrenaline, allows us to take action in order to protect ourselves and others.

It’s what kept our ancestors alive when everything wanted to eat us.

In the modern world, we’re also subject to chronic fear; which occurs when we’re continually exposed to low-level threats and stressful events.

Chronic fear is the fear of choice in the corporate world. It comes with fighting continual fires, assessing and reacting to threats to the business, and navigating organizational politics and competing agendas.

Over time, chronic fear can cause us to irrationally anticipate negative events.?

Like going into an audit expecting the worst possible outcome.?

Or dreading a negative reaction from the executive team on the presentation we've spent a month preparing.

In this case, we assume the role of “victim’ in our circumstances and we relinquish ownership of the solution.

We are at the effect of forces that we believe are beyond our control, and interestingly enough we can become quite comfortable there.

But if things aren’t trying to eat us, and we recognize that most of our fears are created in our own minds and never come to fruition, we have the opportunity to author our response to fear.

We have the power to decide what we fear and what we choose not to fear.

We refuse to let it keep us from success.

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We create fear when we judge events as “bad” or lack confidence in our ability to handle them successfully.

This fear of failure, fear of rejection, or fear that we just don’t measure up can be a common theme in our personal and professional lives.

It often manifests itself in behaviors such as:

• Perfectionism - deferring accomplishment by continually striving to achieve something that can never exist.?
• Withdrawal - isolating ourselves from people and circumstances that challenge us or make us uncomfortable.?
• Settling - accepting something less than extraordinary and retreating into the comfort of “safe.” Playing small.
• Procrastination - making excuses for putting off that which could pay dividends if we attacked it today, but which stretches us or makes us uncomfortable.
• Insulating - wrapping ourselves in familiar thoughts and opinions, or the use of substances that create a barrier between us and the challenges we face.

Left unchecked, fear keeps us comfortable and marching to the status quo.

It keeps us from reaching our leadership and performance potential.

When fear rules our lives, we actually live the paradox of being unsatisfied with our circumstances, yet afraid to initiate real and impactful change for something better.

Remember:

Fear is a creation of the mind. It’s our own beliefs defining something as “bad” that cause our suffering.

It can be helpful to list all the fears you have in any given situation. Which are those you can plan for? Do it. Which include invasion by a race of alien carnivores? Discard that one.

Judgment is a projection of others’ weaknesses. What people say and do is about them, and not a reflection of your value or contribution.?

Detach from the outcome and don’t judge yourself too harshly.

Recognize that “failure” is part of the process of life. It provides insight that would be unavailable if everything happened perfectly and to your (or others’) expectations.

Nothing real can truly be lost. We fear losing things that people associate with success, but “success” is subjective and fleeting at best.

Life happens, and we are built to adapt. Use every experience; every win, every loss as an opportunity for growth. Let that be your personal definition of success.

Everything has a purpose. Although it may not be readily apparent, the purpose and meaning of any event exist for us to discern within the context of our past, present, and future.?

Living with fear often means we’re living in the past (reliving mistakes), or in the future (imagining what can, but often doesn’t happen).?

Live in the now. It’s your chance to create a different future.

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Confidence and fear cannot coexist, but one can be substituted for the other.

Choose wisely. Choose rationally.

If you’re ready to lead with confidence, you must recognize that most of what you fear is irrational, and merely a creation of your mind.

Release it.

When you do, you’re free to live and perform as the confident and successful leader you were meant to be.

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Brian is an ICF-certified coach. He combines a unique background of leadership roles in the military, manufacturing operations, and human resources to deliver powerful coaching and help his clients achieve their personal and professional development goals.