What Stops Us?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI2VQ-ZsNr0

I wrote in a post last week about the ‘say do gap’. This is simply the gap between what you say you will do and what you actually do.

Most of us say we will do something and for whatever reason we don’t always do it. What stops us?

FEAR. There are a couple of acronyms for fear, False Evidence Appears Real or my favourite, Face Everything Always Rise.

What is it that we are actually afraid of? For some of us it could be fear of being judged. This is one that challenges me. 

For example, recently I have been contacting some people on LinkedIn I haven’t spoken to for a while. I am asking them if they have 10 minutes to spare so I can tell them about my business. This might sound like a simple step, for me it was very much outside of my comfort zone. 

I was definitely afraid of being judged.

Guess what? So many of the people I wrote to have come back to me and agreed to schedule time. Believing that most people are kind and will help if they can is a good philosophy and in this case is definitely true. If someone wrote to me asking for time, I know I would say yes!

Some of us could be afraid of failing. 

Trying something new is unfamiliar and can create fear that it will not go well. Visualisation is a great tool to use in these instances. Our brains can not differentiate between what is real and what is imagined, so when we vividly visualise our brain believes we are experiencing whatever we are visualising. 

This means that when we actually go to do whatever it is, our brain and body believe we have already done this. Therefore, our anxiety levels reduce and our confidence grows – it feels familiar.

A simple instruction for me, when I may need to operate outside of my comfort zone and follow through on my actions is to act faster than fear. Avoid hesitation, hesitation is the enemy of action!

For some, not taking action is driven by the fact we just don’t feel like doing it. Have you heard of Mel Robins 5 second rule? This may also help, take a look and let me know what you think.