We all have one thing in common – fear.
It is present in all of our lives and is a primal instinct that is there to keep us safe and to avoid pain. It also prevents us from stepping outside of our comfort zone and can cause us to play a small game.
Our relationship with fear is what will determine how much we let it limit us and how much we step into our confidence. As humans, we will do so much more to avoid pain than we do to experience pleasure – which I attribute to the confidence that most of us seek.
Have you found yourself looking at someone and thinking they seem to be so confident and fearless and that you want more of that? I have, many times. Like you may have, I have battled with my fears and procrastinated far more than I should have about things big and small (hello sales calls!) because fear was talking really loudly at me in an effort to keep me safe! It’s often won out too!
It’s a fascinating subject and this is why I invited Dr Amy Silver to chat with me on my podcast about it. Amy has over two decades of experience studying fear and teaching people how to make fear their friend and her latest book ‘The Loudest Guest’ explains this so well.
What I have learnt from Amy and our conversation is incredibly empowering. She shares how we should not aim to be ‘fearless’ and how we can negotiate with fear. She explains how courage is an action and how we can move forward with courage alongside or in spite of the fear that we are experiencing. The strategies she shares are simple yet powerful.
If you can understand fear more, you will be able to recognise signs for you to stand up and step outside of your comfort zone, create a new relationship with fear that will enable you to play a bigger game whilst also assessing risk. This is exciting because if we have fear in our lives this means that we are growing and achieving new things. Boom!
Tune into our chat and read more about Dr Amy via the link below.