Wanna Grow? Get the FUDD Out!

Welcome to Seeds 4 Growth issue #12!

In each issue, I will use the “Higher Power of 4’s” to provide 4 “seeds” within a particular topic designed to inspire individuals, teams, and organizations to find purpose in fulfilling their true growth potential. And by doing so, grow leaders into living legacy builders who can make a positive, lasting impact in the world.

Within my #1 Best-Selling book, The Purposeful Growth Revolution: 4 Ways to Grow from Leader to Legacy Builder, I outline a holistic model for purposeful growth that features a LEAF as a natural symbol of growth as well as an acronym (Leadership, Engagement, Accountability, and Fulfillment) to help grow you 4-ward at work. As found in nature as well as in life, we go through various seasons of growth, transformation, harvest and regeneration.

Summer is a time for transformation within a plant or tree and while the fall harvest is quickly approaching, there is still time for us to learn how to transform our mindset to help us grow purposefully into our full potential.

“What a liberation to realize that the ‘voice in my head’ is not who I am.”

— Eckhart Tolle

How many people really want to take the steps to transform their lives from who they are to who they desire to become? Why so few? I believe it’s because, at our core, we’re all creatures of habit—we simply don’t like too much change. Changing our habits is disconcerting at best and sometimes even painful. That kind of self-limiting mindset is not how we can fulfill our true growth potential.

If we truly want to bring about purposeful change, I believe we must overcome some deeply rooted psychological issues. I have found Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (often shortened to FUD) are primarily responsible for delaying our progress in fulling our unique purpose. In the world, FUD is often used as a disinformation strategy in sales, marketing, public relations, talk radio, politics, religion, and government to further an agenda that benefits those using the strategy.

FUD is generally the use of negative, dubious, and/or false information to appeal to fear. We are also prone to creating this type of campaign in our own mind, limiting our ability to manage change personally and professionally—representing the lies we tell ourselves. Often the result of FUD is another word I’ll add as a fourth letter to the acronym: D for Delay.

I will unpack FUDD (sorry, no connection to our ol’ cartoon pal, Elmer) in a way I think we can all relate to when examining our own lives; employing the powerful “from X to Y” repurposing technique to guide the process.

The good news is we have an antidote for FUDD to help us grow into our unique purpose from the seeds we have sewn into our hearts.

Fear—what will happen if I fail, and if so, then what?

Many of us have heard the acronym FEAR (False Evidence Appearing Real). That is certainly accurate, but fear is a response, both rational and emotional, to unknown or difficult circumstances. Some claim to be driven to attain success by their fear of failure, whereas others become paralyzed by it. Others may be afraid of success.

Of course, it is only natural to be afraid of the unknown; however, the Bible tells us that faith can overcome fear. Depending on which version you read, God tells us over 350 times not to fear. Why? God does not want us to live in fear; rather he desires that we boldly and courageously fulfill our life's purpose.

Be. Not. Afraid.

“Don’t let what you are afraid of keep you from what you were made for.”

— Bob Goff

Most have heard Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s famous line from his first inaugural speech, given at the height of the Great Depression: “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—.” However, I wager most don’t know the rest of the sentence: “—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” While the first part is no doubt true on many levels and makes for a great sound bite, I believe the second part is even more important. It is a call to move forward in fulfilling our purpose.

To help us overcome our fears and live a life of purpose and fulfillment, we must first grow from Fear to Purposeful Faith. Or said another way, we must have the faith to be courageous and act boldly by standing up to the fear of the unknown and attacking it head-on. FDR’s faith led him to take action by creating the New Deal, which created jobs, financial reforms, and infrastructure projects as catalysts for a new era of growth and prosperity.

From Fear to Purposeful Faith

My fears are only lies in my head. I choose not to give them power. Instead, I will choose to have faith that I may overcome my fears by becoming bold and courageous as I seek to grow into my purpose.

I can do this!

“Change can be scary. But you know what’s scarier? Allowing fear to stop you from growing, evolving, and progressing.”

— Mandy Hale

And when you are laser-focused on who you serve, you begin to see they have faith in you and indeed are counting on you not only to grow but thrive.

What are you afraid of?

Uncertainty—dare I risk what I have for what I desire?

Fear of failure almost always leads to uncertainty as we weigh the risk-reward benefits of any decision. When our fear of failure outweighs our vision of success, we tend to avoid taking the necessary risks to change the status quo. Many people who claim to be dissatisfied with their lives remain stuck because they don’t want to risk what they do have. On the other side of the coin, I marvel at entrepreneurs who believe so strongly in their ideas that they are willing to risk everything. Some get rich and thrive that way; others remain poor and merely survive.

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

— Anais Nin

The next step in the process of managing self-change is choosing to grow from Uncertainty to Purposeful Hope. If we are truly living our God-given purpose and have a keen understanding of exactly who we serve, then we must see the risks involved are well worth the rewards we are meant to achieve. Again, this turns the hope we have in our heart into the positive, purposeful actions needed to bring our vision to life.

For those who smugly profess the time-worn adage, “Hope is not a strategy,” I respectfully disagree. Remember, hope can and should be an active—not passive—strategy that, when combined with tactical execution, will lead to success. And the opposite of hope is “hopeless” which is, well…er, “less” than a winning strategy. And “hopelessness” suggests a deep, dark state. But for hope to work for us, we cannot be timid and merely dip our toes into hopeful waters; we must be open and willing to take the leap, diving deep!

From Uncertainty to Purposeful Hope

I will choose to take on the risk of uncertainty because of the hope I have in the greater benefits of growing into my purpose.

My plan will work!

“Death is not the biggest fear we have; our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive—the risk to be alive and express what we really are….”

— Don Miguel Ruiz

Are you open to taking a risk?

Doubt—I’m not worthy. Isn’t success for “other” people?

If fear leads to uncertainty, then most assuredly this combination leads to doubt. Negative thoughts can easily creep into our heads and cause us to doubt ourselves. I’ve heard these called “background voices.” I’m sure you can relate to them. Am I an imposter? Am I as good as them? Am I ready for this? Am I even worthy of success?

“Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.”

— William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure

Somehow, we think everyone else has their stuff together and we don’t. And the truth is, they probably feel the same way. It’s just that some are better at hiding it than others. Either way, self-doubt can quickly lead to self-sabotage, and often we don’t even realize we’re doing it. Our doubt becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that reinforces the initial doubt—and the cycle continues in a downward spiral.

If we are bold and courageous in facing our fears through faith, we must be prepared to take the next step to grow from Doubt to Purposeful Belief. Faith that is founded on being created in God’s image, infused with a unique set of talents along with a purpose in our hearts. Also rooted in the belief that we are indeed worthy of an abundant life filled with love, joy, peace, and fulfillment.

From Doubt to Purposeful Belief

I’ve done this (many times) before; I believe I can do it again. This time, even better and more successfully than ever as I choose to focus on growing into my purpose.

Why not me?

“Your belief determines your action, and your action determines your results, but you first have to believe.”

— Mark Victor Hansen

What do you believe?

Delay—can I survive the painful regret of missed opportunity?

Now, if fear leads to uncertainty and uncertainty leads to doubt, it stands to reason that all this negative energy would stop us dead in our tracks—resulting in the paralyzing inertia of delay. This is quite possibly the most damaging of them all as a delay in taking action may not only cause us to miss out on a life-changing opportunity, but it may also result in a deeper, more serious source of regret. What did I do with my life?

“Procrastination is opportunity’s natural assassin.”

— Victor Kiam

We can be brave in overcoming fears through stronger faith, turn uncertainty into calculated risk leading to the hope of greater rewards, and instill self-belief that erodes our doubts. All that is fantastic; however, we must grow from Delay to Purposeful Action and DO something about it. Otherwise, we will continue to remain stuck in second gear and may never fulfill our life’s purpose. What a shame that would be, right?

But like taking our medicine, we know that embracing change is absolutely a necessity for proper growth and development within every single facet of life. But it is never easy or particularly fun.

From Delay to Purposeful Action

I will choose to move forward exercising my freedom to take actions that will help me learn, grow, and develop along every step of my journey until I reach my destination—celebrating my wins along the way.

I freakin’ did that!

“Between stimulus and response is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. And, in our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

— Dr. Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

What choices will you make to just do it?

I assure you these 4 obstacles to growth are relevant to my life. I can’t even begin to tell you what moving beyond FUDD to take my book project from epiphany to completion was like. But the Purposeful Faith I leaned on to overcome my fear with boldness and courage, the Purposeful Hope I gained to help me take a calculated risk in overcoming my uncertainty, and the deep sense of Purposeful Belief that helped me overcome my doubt all led me to take positive, Purposeful Action and finally overcome my (many) delays.

As I think back on my career, I recall saying yes to a few opportunities that often tested my FUDD factor. What if I had said no to them? I would have missed out on meeting great people and having experiences that changed the trajectory of my career and my life’s purpose—and possibly even yours.

The term “analysis paralysis” is pretty common, and it is very real. In business, we know while waiting for all the information to arrive and align, we sometimes allow the competition to speed past us. My solution is what I call the “80 Percent Right Rule.” We should be able to make the right decision with 80 percent of the information instead of waiting for 100 percent, which likely won’t come anyway. In sales, we also know that “Time kills all deals.”

To take full advantage of the growth opportunities that present themselves, we must get the FUDD out—Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt, and Delay—and replace it with Faith, Hope, Belief, and, most importantly, Action—all focused on who we serve and revolving around our unique Purpose.

“Change can be scary. But you know what’s scarier? Allowing fear to stop you from growing, evolving, and progressing.”

— Mandy Hale

Now, I have 4 important questions for you:

Seeds 4 Growth

1. How can a stronger Faith help you conquer your Fear?

2. How can Hope give you confidence to overcome your Uncertainty?

3. How can Belief help you quiet the “background voices” of Doubt?

4. What Action can you take—today—to move beyond the paralysis of Delay?

The new world of work is changing... on purpose.

Let’s put the “Human” back in Human Resources.

If you are interested in learning how you, your team, or your organization can find purpose in fulfilling your true growth potential, I would be delighted to work with you. Please visit my website at https://www.MarkAMears.com and let’s get growing.

The Purposeful Growth Revolution is ON!

Are you IN?