Fearing the alternative

Happy Tuesday!

I hope September is starting well for you and the thought that summer is coming to an end isn't dragging you down!

This evening, I want to look at the concept of 'fear'. The word 'fear' generally carries a negative connotation, but when it comes to motivation, it’s a bit different. Anyone who’s looked into theories of goal setting and achievement knows that accountability plays a huge role in following through on goals, and what’s the main factor in accountability? Fear.

When you become accountable to either someone you care about or to the general public, your motivation is rooted in fear of failing and letting people down.

Examples of fear-based motivation may include:

• A person who creates an Instagram account to document and share their weight loss journey, and to be held to account by others.
• A student who spends extra time studying for maths because they don’t want to be embarrassed when the teacher calls on them for an answer.
• A parent who is motivated to quit smoking cigarettes because they fear disappointing their children.

While the examples we just listed are generally positive, fear-based motivation can also have a dark side. Consider a boss who threatens to fire an employee if they don’t find a way to make their company numbers meet the quarterly goals. Or consider an authoritarian regime that uses fear against minority populations to gain support for human rights violations. The latter may be an extreme example but it shows that fear can be used as a tool to force people in to tolerating behaviours, or even engaging in behaviours, that they wouldn't otherwise consider. When that happens, we can get perverse and painful consequences in life and business.

However, in the right circumstances, think of fear motivation as a type of positive stressor (or positive constraint) that helps you outsmart your future self and reach specific goals. What fear-based motivation could you deploy to help you BE more, HAVE more, and DO more this month?

Have a great evening!

Sean