Is Fear Your Worst Enemy?
Fear is the worst four little word in the world. It is the residual effect of so many other negative conditions that manifest in this world like hate, failure, anger, insecurities, etc. It affects people’s personal lives and yes it can affect your business and its success and growth.
I will be the first to admit, starting your own business is scary as heck! The fear of losing the time, money and effort that has been invested in trying to make your business something great and lasting. It is not easy getting a business off the ground, but we all have to learn how to shake it off and keep going.
Everyone will have doubt one way or another when starting any new journey or step in their life. Self-doubt is not foreign if you are striving to be an entrepreneur or for that matter doing anything out of your comfort zone.
But is some fear healthy?
Can fear help guide you from making mistakes that could be detrimental to your business? And if there is healthy fear, how do you tell when it is or when it isn’t? These are questions I ask myself all the time. For example, it is healthy to fear getting burned by fire. It will keep you safe and cautious, but the fear becomes unhealthy when it stops you from using fire because you are too scared of getting burned.
Finding that balance of healthy and unhealthy fear can be tricky, and it really does take confidence and love of self to figure it out. The best answer I have for you, is trust your gut! There are a few questions I always ask myself when I start feeling fearful when it comes to making any new or big business decision.
- Ask yourself is the fear you are feeling when making a business decision reasonable or unreasonable?
- Are they based off of facts or emotions?
- Are your own personal insecurities enhancing these fears?
It is always good to have another person in your business that you can bounce ideas and decisions off of that might not be so emotionally invested. Even if it's just someone you can consult that is outside of your business to gain a second opinion or advice. They can look at it from an outside perspective while as the business owner and creator, it will always be somewhat personal for you.
These are just a few questions and tips I try to follow as fellow Entrepreneur and business owner. It doesn’t diminish my fears completely, but it definitely helps get a handle on them which helps me to determine which fears I should take heed to and which I should throw into the wind. Remember you are going to make mistakes, but if you don’t ever take a chance you will never truly know how high you and your business can fly.