We don’t often talk about fear and when we do, we deem it a negative emotion, a weakness, even something to be ashamed of.

In its innate form, fear is the emotion that protects us from danger or pain but, in twenty-first century life, fear can sometimes become chronic. It can manifest itself in multiple ways and it can prevent us from living our most fulfilled lives.

What if we readdressed the way we think about fear?

Rather than see it as the catalyst for avoiding something, what if we took control of those thoughts and feelings and used them to propel us outside our comfort zone and into the realms of success and fulfilment.

I’ll share my own experience to demonstrate how my life could have easily taken a different, far less satisfying path.

For most of my adult life I worked in education, eventually becoming a Head Teacher and running my own school. It was a job I could do with my eyes closed but I had become totally disillusioned with the system. I was stressed, had very little spare time and felt I was missing out on important things with my own family.

In amongst all of this stress and frustration I began working on a side project which to my surprise grew and grew to the point where I was pretty much doing two full time jobs.

At this point I had two options:

1. To park my side project and focus on my “profession” and the career I had spent so many years establishing.
2. To give that up and put all my efforts in to my side project, possibly risking my guaranteed income, no longer being at the top of my field and beginning a totally different career path.

There’s a common phase which says “nothing great ever happens inside your comfort zone” yet so many people let the fear of the unknown prevent them from stepping outside of it and achieving their full potential.

This could have so easily been me had I stayed in my role as a Head Teacher but, by facing that fear head on, embracing those uncomfortable feelings and throwing myself in at the deep end I now get to say that I love my job.

So how do we change the way we deal with feelings of fear?

Firstly, we need to be open about our fears, not ashamed of them. The act of simply acknowledging them will immediately give you a sense of control over them and remember that it is all about control; you controlling your fears, not them controlling you.

Be honest with yourself about how your feelings make you act and think. In my case this was:

“Am I only staying in this job because it’s what I know? I am afraid of the unknown but is my fear making me avoid this?”

Only you know the answer but being honest with yourself is key.

You will always have fears, we all will, but when you get to a place where you are no longer driven by them, that’s when something magical happens.

Take action, find the magic by making that change!

To find out more about my business and how you too can make the change visit my website.

‍