Fear Strikes Out, When You Pitch to Win

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt once told us that "the only thing to fear is fear itself." He was talking about the run on banks during the Great Depression, but he could have related his same words to war, sickness and or conditions of poverty.

Fear can attach itself to almost anything that has unknown consequences. And, almost every moment of life has them. What if you walk out of your house and get hit by a bus? Should you never leave your house?

I am willing to bet that most do not know what the former President said beyond his famous quote. He went on to describe fear as that " nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” Even if we have never heard his words, we can all identify with their meaning.

At some point in our lives, we have each known fear. It is how we have each dealt with it that makes us unique. Some of us -gripped by fear - have been paralyzed by it. It has often caused us NOT to take calculated risks - even when such risks are in our favor. Others are actually motivated by fear; taking even the boldest risks just to avoid it. And still others are better prepared than most to face fear head on. They know what fear looks like; are not intimidated by it; accept it as part of being human; and prove themselves able to work through it. This latter group "gets it," because they learned to beat it.

Fear can be very much a part of the job seeking and career selection process, because these are situations of significant vulnerability for many of us. Why? Because, they are still to be resolved conditions of life. And, they are important and pivotal to better living.

We often don't know what we don't know about unfamiliar situations - things we have never had to deal with before. This creates "uncertainty," which is fear's first cousin. "What if I can't get the job I want?" "What if I choose the wrong career? What are the negative consequences of bad choices - or of just plain bad luck? These questions and other similar ones breed fear in many of us. Failure hurts! We immediately think about the worst things that can happen to us. Don't we?

Think about some of the silliness that flows from our brains when we let fear cause us to overreact. Tell me that these thoughts have never crossed your mind:

"If I don't get a job in three months, I'll lose my house, my car and everything I own. My spouse will leave me. My kids will disrespect me! My God, I'll be homeless!"

...Or, " If I choose the wrong career and don't like it, I will be trapped doing something I don't enjoy for the rest of my life. What will I do?"

Fear just makes your nerves take off and run in a million different and needless directions. It gets us nowhere - except where we do not want or need to go.

So, we've established that fear is something we must all find ways to deal with. How best we neutralize or use fear to win starts with the basic understanding of what it is; how it works; and having the ability to recognize it within us. We all need to be able to do these things and teach ourselves to stop; take a few deep breaths; shift gears and use our minds and guts to bust through to the other side of fear - to that place where all life's solutions reside. They certainly do not reside within fear - only inside the absence of it.

Controlling fear is both an emotional strategy and a tactical exercise. Here are five (5) things you can do to help beat back fear during your job search planning and activities, as well as whatever career exploration endeavors you undertake:

1. Know that not only does God have a plan, but so should you.

That's double coverage in insurance industry terms. Insurance-wise - all of this (coverage) is more than you'll ever need. God's overall plan - in part - is for you to rely on your own good judgement. After all, we are all created in his image and he "endowed" us with great abilities. The "God only part" of planning comes at the very end of everything we do and is what we call "fate." Fate is simply any final outcome. But, we all need to believe that we have some level of ability to craft an approach to help determine a finished result - fate's determination. Still, we cannot get hung up on the raw emotions that often accompany facing the unknown, because fate can also be considered our "history" and represents the end of each little vignette that - in total - tells our life's story. We are the sum of everything that has ever happened to us. But, our legacy is the result of everything we have ever accomplished in the face of adversity.

2. Visualize what goal attainment looks like. Keep your mind's eye on the prize.

While we are paying most of our attention to the desired results (rewards), we have no time to dwell on the elements of fear. Great strategy and outlook!

People spend an awful lot of time watching cooking programs on television, these days. The expert preparation and presentation look so good, you can almost smell and taste all that is cooking on the stove and baking in the oven. Remember this... No lay person, who attempts these same dishes at home is equal to the expert chefs creating them on TV. But, many of us still attempt the exact same recipes at home and they, their families and guests enjoy them. BRAVO! We can never really know if they tasted exactly the same as what was prepared on a studio set. Does it really matter? What is more important is that our own home made attempts were good enough to satisfy our own personal taste critics. Those, who fear attempting such recipes at home will never really know how good these creations taste. Fear wins and we lose in all such cases. This is why some say - "the taste of victory is sweet." You'll never know how good winning tastes until you sample it!

3. Throw yourself a little party for every successful step along the way to winning.

The steps taken towards winning are most pleasurable and must each be celebrated. Celebrating each accomplished step reinforces our overall resolve to win - to succeed. So, when something seems to go right with your plan (i.e. receiving compliments on your resume; getting a job interview appointment; hearing of favorable interest inventory results, etc.) treat yourself to something that you enjoy. It may only be a dish of ice cream or buying yourself something small that you might like to have, but - whatever it is - it will make you feel like you are still on the right path to success. Fear remains on the back burner, where it belongs.

4. Create a personal support group and assign them tasks.

Fear cannot handle group support. There is simply too much encouragement and "high fiving" surrounding its potential victims to permeate. So, it backs off and allows people to excel. It is very important to reach out to and ask family and friends to support your decision-making and help with the tasks involved in your journey. Whether they just plan to check on your progress, regularly; take you to lunch once a week; or agree to proof your resume and mock interview you -it helps keep you thinking more in the way of "can-do" than "no-go."

5. When you win, never forget how you felt doing it.

The best way to vanquish fear FOREVER, is to teach yourself the way to feel whenever you are faced with major decisions. Winning teaches us the same lessons that losing does. But, there is one thing it teaches better - how to feel good about ourselves. It is the big "dish of ice cream" that comes at the very end of every successful outcome. Losing is the "plate of broccoli" that is good for you, but (if you are not a fan of it), you are still missing out on something sweet. Remembering this alone - the taste of victory - is the best possible fear vaccine in the world.

Go out and make good things happen. Fear is overrated and needs to go find someone else to scare.