Quick Tips To Help You Succeed Despite Your Fears

Fear is a natural part of life. Everyone experiences fear. Everyone has a fear of something. (I have long had a phobia of dogs, a fear of heights, and I absolutely loath cockroaches!)

But are your fears holding you back from success? Are you not achieving your dreams because of fear?

In today's article, I want to share some tips to help you succeed despite your fears.

Fear Is A Liar

We all do it. We all create and imagine scenarios in our heads of how we think something is going to happen or turn out.

Do you, for example, tell yourself you are going to forget your words to your speech or elevator pitch? Do you imagine people not liking what you have to say? Perhaps they'll be offended, upset or just get bored? What if I make a fool of myself and everyone laughs at me - not just at the event, but for days even months afterwards?

It's important to remember that such scenarios are only in our heads and are unlikely to actually happen.

And if you are still afraid that something might go wrong, there's nothing wrong with making a Plan B or contingency plan, to mitigate any adverse effects.

Giving Into Fear Only Robs You Of Joy And Success

When you give in to your fears, you only exacerbate your feelings of failure, robbing you of the joy of that comes with triumphing over your fears.

In fact, focusing on the success and imagining yourself crushing it and winning your prize can be a powerful weapon against fear.

I often give myself a personal pep talk before stepping out onto stage or going on camera!

Yes, even after more than 40 years of public speaking, I still feel nervous; I still have the collywobbles; I still feel scared, at times. Those feelings never go away!

But the difference is, I know how to, "feel the fear and do it anyway!" I have learned to channel my nervous energy and use it as my secret weapon. And, as a result, when I am up there, doing my thing, people love it! I often hear people say things to me like, "Wow! How do you do it? How do you get up there and speak with such confidence?"

What they don't know is that while they saw this graceful swan gliding across the pond, my legs were paddling ten-to-the-dozen. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Because that's my secret weapon!

How To Leverage Your Fear And Turn It Into Your Secret Weapon

Have you ever watched one of those superhero movies, where the arch-nemesis throws a super-charged weapon - maybe a lightning bolt or the like - at the hero? And then the hero is able to channel that weapon's power and use it to combat his/her foe!

(Yes, I know. I watch far too many Star Wars and Marvel movies. I am a big superhero fan!)

But this is like you and your battle against fear.

You are the superhero. (Yes, you ARE a real hero just for stepping up to the challenge!)

And your fear is like your arch-nemesis; your enemy of darkness; your own personal Darth Vader.

And you can turn your enemy fear's power against it and tame it into submission. Here are three things you can do to help you achieve this:

1) Acknowledge your fear: Look your fear straight in the eyes, so to speak, and let it know you know it's there. Acknowledging your inner saboteurs and letting them know you're aware of them is a powerful way to disarm them.

You might also want to consider practicing something called EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), also known as Tapping. (I am not an expert or practitioner of EFT. But I have used it successfully for myself on several occasions, when needed. And I can highly recommend it!)

The typical process of Tapping involves you using the tips of your fingers to tap specific pressure points - or meridians - while saying an affirmation such as, "Even though I am feeling afraid, I truly and deeply have faith in my ability to succeed," or something like that. Google it and try it for yourself. It really does work!

2) Meditate on your success: This is a favourite technique of mine. Meditation can be a very powerful tool for changing your state of being. And I have successfully used it both for myself and with my clients to help bring my/their feelings of confidence and empowerment to the fore. I have even created a guided meditation for confidence. Which you can listen to for free.

3) Anchoring: There is another technique that's technically referred to as anchoring, but I like to call, "Making Your Move!"

Making Your Move! is very powerful because it enables you to switch your state of being in a fraction of a moment, just by making one simple movement.

This requires you do some re-programming of your mind beforehand. Which is a lot easier than it sounds, and totally harmless.

To accomplish all of this, you simply need to start by sitting somewhere quiet, and meditating on confidence, to bring it to the fore.

Then, once you feel fully confident and empowered throughout your being, "anchor" or connect this feeling to a single movement that means something to you personally.

It could be striking a particular pose or stance; punching the air in a particular direction; touching or tapping a particular part of your face, head or body; or even something as simple as clicking your fingers in a particular manner. It has to be personal and meaningful to you, though. So that you will connect and identify with the movement on an unconscious level.

(If you feel you want or need to, you may also repeat an empowering affirmation to yourself while you're Making Your Move!, such as, "Jae, you've got this!" (Replace, "Jae," with your own name.) Or, "I am crushing it!" Or, "I've got the power!")

Now, practice Making Your Move! several times a day, for a couple of weeks, while you're in your normal/regular state of being, and feeling at ease. Each time you Make Your Move!, bring those feelings of confidence and empowerment into the core of your being. Feel it and embody it!

By practicing the Make Your Move! technique on a regular basis, while drawing up that confident, empowered feeling, you will embed it into your unconscious mind.

Then, when you need to feel confident and empowered - such as before going on camera to do a Facebook/LinkedIn Live, standing up to do your elevator pitch, or going into that all-important job interview or sales meeting, you can Make Your Move!

I have found that Making MY Move! - coupled with meditation - to be an especially powerful tool for confidence and self-empowerment. And this is why, as part of my free Confidence Guided Meditation recording, I have included the Make Your Move! technique at the end.

Do You Need Some Extra Support To Overcome Your Fears?

As a Confidence Coach, I focus on helping CEOs, business owners and Project Managers to feel more confident when having to stand up to speak/present to their peers or stakeholders.

I can empower you with a plethora of tools and techniques to ensure you crush it in that all-important presentation - or whatever the speaking engagement might be. Additionally, I can teach you how to prepare your notes and choreograph your presentation to greatest effect. And, if you want to network more confidently and effectively, I have a number of strings to my bow in that vein too, that I regularly teach.

Whatever your needs are, in regard to overcoming your fear of speaking, presenting or networking, I have the experience and skills to help you.

So, what's stopping you from overcoming your fear and moving forward? Book your free, no-obligation discovery call with me today. I am looking forward to empowering you to overcome your fear or speaking and presenting!