Fears. Is there anything that holds us back in all of our life choices more than our fears? It is so easy for me to see this in my friends and in other people—standing back at my comfortable distance, I can easily see how they are feeling stuck, or making poor decisions, or not moving ahead with key decisions—all because they are letting fear rule the day. But when it comes to my own life and decisions—particularly those that affect my home business—why is that I don’t always see the role that fear plays in holding me back?
What are we so afraid of? What am I so afraid of? Of course there is fear of failure, losing money, making foolish decisions, etc. But, I also believe that we can be just as afraid of GOOD things happening too. I know that if I allow myself to really look down deeply at my fears, I will see that I am afraid of having more work than I can manage, of moving my business into a place where I might not feel comfortable and knowledgeable, and of having to really expand in terms of what I do and how I think of myself. All of these fears have the potential to keep me from moving forward.
Isn’t it odd how we can have grand dreams and even make plans for how to get there, but as long as we let the fears rule the day, we aren’t going to get there! I have to remind myself that there is a risk-taker in here somewhere—after all we entrepreneurs do have that ability to take leaps and risks and overcome those fears. Unfortunately, we are also humans who crave a bit of security too and once things are going along decently, it can be hard not to let fears keep us from upsetting the apple cart in order to spur growth and change.
Facing fears, acknowledging and overcoming is all part of the home business owner’s challenge. We have to start by asking ourselves, “What are we afraid of?”
Also: Is Fear Holding You Back? How to Work With Your Fears