Overcoming Fear to Achieve Personal Success Podcast

Fear.

It's one of the most basic human emotions.

Programmed into our nervous system, it works like an instinct that alerts us to the presence of danger. Whether it's real or imagined, there is a threat of harm to our physical, emotional or psychological well-being.

While there are certain things that trigger fear in all of us, our personal experience in life determines the ones that impact us the most.

Being bullied, belittled and betrayed are three of my deepest fears. Not surprisingly, bought on by a series of incidents between the age of 6 and 14yrs. Still young and learning to deal with life, it made sense to claim "the world is dangerous and it's not safe".

While these experiences happened in the past, and are no longer a reality in the present, the decision inadvertently stuck, manifesting as an imagined fear and leaving me with a subtle but disconcerting inability to be free in my own communication.

"How do it manifest?"

It's ironic. I've been in the business of communications my entire working life. 30 years to be precise. Despite a reputation for being an extraordinary communicator and highly effective storyteller who has helped some of the world's leading organisations monetise their brands, there was an unconscious level of fear in my own communication.

I held back, a lot.

It's not safe to receive any kind of public recognition (for a fear of being bullied), wait till you're asked and hold yourself back. It's much safer to encourage others (no surprise I was never the sales person only the anchor).

It's not safe to tell the truth about how you feel (for fear of being betrayed). Let it go, suck it up, toughen up, you're meant to be seen, not heard.

It's not safe to stick your neck out and tell people what you enjoy (for fear of being belittled). It's much easier to be easy-going and go along with the crowd.

We tell ourselves "it's not a big deal", "it's not that important", "it doesn't matter",.

Sadly telling ourselves these things, not only leaves us alone and disappointed, it sends us down a rabbit hole of doubt, resentment and fear.

"It isn't important, becomes you're not important, I'm not important",

"It doesn't matter, becomes you don't matter and I don't matter",

"It's a big deal, you're not a big deal, I'm not a big deal".

Whether you fear the same thing, or not - social interaction, rejection, bullying, betrayal, failure, weakness, darkness, heights, death, looking stupid, public speaking - when we turn towards our fear (rather than away from it), we begin to notice things we didn't notice before.

Like the simple fact that fear is imagined, not real.

Join me on this week’s episode of #TheUnchartedLeader as I talk with Amanda Thompson, Managing Director of Endurance Financial Australia, about overcoming fear and removing the biases that stand in the way of achieving personal success.

Amanda has overcome her fair share of fear. From a brutal sexual assault at the age of 24 she rose to the top as one of the youngest leading Financial Planners with a major bank, started her own business and qualified three times for the Ironman World Championships.

“A leader is someone who shows up authentically every day, in vulnerability, strength and everything in between" - Amanda

Through sharing her personal story, Amanda hopes to inspire others to find resilience, determination and dedication to something bigger than themselves. Most of all, she hopes to help others realise that love really does conquer all and while adversity is a given, courage is a choice.

Highlights.

• Success does not come without overcoming a lot of obstacles and fear
• Lead with your heart and learn to feel safe within yourself to step forward
• Your fate is determined by the decisions you make AND you are exactly where you’re meant to be
• Re-learning how to trust yourself and others after trauma and abuse
• The loss of independence women experience in their journey of motherhood
• Financial success is not a measure of your success and the impact you have in the world
• Reframe fear by affirming encouragement and emotional support
• Develop strength and confidence by taking actions that get you out of your comfort zone
• Get your head out of the sand by finding someone you trust and start talking
• Creating small healthy habits will prove to give you life-long success
• Let go of your fear of being perceived as a failure or weak and be willing to share your experiences and ask for feedback, help or advice

Ignite Your Passion.

• Listen to this week's episode of The Uncharted Leader on?iTunes and tell us what you think by writing a review and giving us a 5-Star Rating (or whatever rating you feel it deserves :)) You can also listen on Spotify or Stitcher
• Follow Amanda Thompson on LinkedIn and Endurance Financial on Instagram
• Follow?The Uncharted Leader?on?Instagram,?YouTube?and?Facebook.
• Book a?call?with Kylee and?discover The Power of Storytelling to Ignite Your Passion, Grow Your Influence and Amplify the Impact you have in the world!

This article first appeared on?The Performance Code