How to Turn Fear into Opportunity

Everyone gets scared once in a while - it’s human nature and a part of life. But turning fear into opportunity? Well that's the key to a life well led.

Fear drives us to do things (I’ll admit - sometimes stupid things), but when you use it right - boy, does it pay off.

If you don’t use fear to your advantage, it’s gonna hold you back. Nobody wants that. (At least not me).

Being brave isn’t the absence of fear. Being brave is having that fear and finding a way through it.

--Bear Grylls

What that means is be scared…and do the thing anyway.

Here are my three tips to turn fear into success…

If it Scares You, it’s Worth it (Trust Me).

People identify the feeling of fear and anxiety with "this is bad for me."

Alright, I don't blame anyone. We're biologically wired to be self-protective.

But sometimes fear and anxiety really just means "If it scares me, then good. I know I'm doing something right. I'm stepping out of my comfort zone and growing." You get to decide when to trust your fear as a guide.

Your fear points you in the right direction. Fear is valuable. It tells you when something has the potential to expand your limits. But you can’t live your life in fear. What I mean is…let fear come along for the ride, but don’t let it take the steering wheel. Acknowledge it, but don’t let it control your life.

‘What if?’ can be a good thing. Humans tend to tell themselves the worst possible scenario. What if someone thinks you’re not good, you mess it up, or worse (*gasp*), you fail? Don’t tell yourself that story. Turn it into a positive ‘what if.’?

What if you succeed? What if you achieve everything you want??

And hot tip: if failure is one of your greatest fears? Good news. Failure can be part of your greatest successes if you know how to learn from them. I talk more about that here .

Get Familiar with Fear, So it Feels Less Scary.

The biggest payout when it comes to fear is after a while…things aren’t so scary anymore.?

Or at least, it’s not such a big deal when you do feel scared.?

Why??

Because you’ve done it before and you survived, maybe even thrived - so you go for more significant opportunities, leading to even greater conscious growth.

Start small (fear doesn’t have to be big). If you dive into the deep end, you’re probably gonna panic. Begin with something manageable, (called eustress ) and slowly learn to swim. Sometimes our fear is caused from looking too far ahead. That leads to overwhelm, then leads to its cousin fear.

Do the thing while you’re scared. A lot of people think that when they say, ‘Yes,’ to fear, it will go away. Spoiler alert…most of the time, it won’t. But you know what I did? I built up my experience and did it anyway - now I get the opportunity of supporting a team of 14 and serve an entire tech community (humble brag).

Fear can sometimes be a super power. It drives you to concentrate, try hard, and show up as the best version of yourself. So be terrified - then do it anyway.

Fear Allows You to Get to Know Yourself Better.?

Are you worried because you don’t feel good enough or worthy? Why? Who told you that? (they’re wrong btw). You grow as a human being when you learn the root cause of your fears.

Challenge your fears. Just because your brain tells you something - doesn’t make it reality. Do I have blue skin and live on Mars? No. Stupid example, I know…but you get the point. Ask yourself - is this fear actually true? Or is this something I think is true? Thoughts have a way of finding the front door key to your mind whether it's fact or not. Call it self-protective, call it conditioning. Either way. It's your job to be conscious of what you allow to drive you.

Ask yourself: Do I secretly fear success? There are a few of us out there who are scared of achieving our dreams. Weird, right??

If you’re comfortable with living a familiar life (albeit a life you don't actually want) ...and you suddenly have a breakthrough? Crossing that bridge to action can feel daunting. You have a lot more to lose. (The oxymoron of comfort just be like that sometimes). But when you realize that and accept fear as a passenger, not the driver? Fear becomes a lot easier to handle.

In short…

Fear is a normal human emotion - and a lot of the time, it’s telling you you’re doing something right…not wrong. Don’t let fear rule you, but guide you. Remind yourself that success is a good thing, and you deserve it.

Just saying.

If you liked this article, you can read more of my newsletters here or catch up on our tech blog .