The First Step is Admitting You're Afraid
From my rough
life in the hard streets - OK...just from living my life, my professional career, my
formal schooling, and my reading - as well as from my majestic successes
and mammoth failures, I have developed three main questions I ask when facing a
situation, opportunity, dilemma, problem, or pragmatically any choice. This post details the first.
The First Question...
The first question and the
one that I think precludes the most people from action - while ironically the
least admitted during an external dialogue (while quite prevalent in one’s
internal monologue) is, “What would I do if I was not afraid?”
Come On....Admit it Already!
Admitting the
feeling of fear or of being afraid - especially when not arising from a large group
of voracious beasts or an ill-intended biker gang - seems to be something people
are - afraid - to do.
So, when an opportunity
arises - which to those with a positive attitude and optimism is with every decision - I recommend
that you ask yourself what you would do if you were not afraid.
Afraid-of-What-a-Phobia
Afraid of what? Rejection. Failure. Judgment. Shame. Loss. Misunderstanding. Criticism. (...insert yours here...) These are the first that
come to my mind, as well as just plain old uncertainty - by which I mean,
knowing more outcomes could happen
than will.
Example: I started this BLOG by asking myself this
question and actually ask it for every post. I
admit that there is a certain level of fear that: First - no one will ever read
what I am writing, and Second - that what I write may be judged, not appreciated, or misunderstood.
But then I tell myself that I have been extremely successful at everything I put all of my effort in to, but will still let my unconscious fears rule the day. Hence, I must make them part of my conscious thinking and ask this magical question.
But then I tell myself that I have been extremely successful at everything I put all of my effort in to, but will still let my unconscious fears rule the day. Hence, I must make them part of my conscious thinking and ask this magical question.
I then am often surprised at what I would do......if I wasn't afraid.
Enthusiastically scribbled by,
Jason Riemens
