In today’s blog post, I will talk about fear and shares a simple exercise to help you work through your fears in business.
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Running a business can be scary. The trouble is, we can also make it SO much scarier than it needs to be.
We can create ‘stories’ around our business that don’t serve us.
If you want to be successful in business, you want to have stories that empower you, rather than disempower you.
For most business owners, the thought of showing up and being visible can feel really uncomfortable. It can make you feel anxious, and sometimes even physically sick. Your mindset monkeys can get in the way and you might be asking yourselves things like:
- What if they think my service/ offering isn’t good enough?
- What if I market my services and nobody wants to work with me?
- What if people don’t like me?
- What if they judge me for what I put out there?
- What if I’m successful?
- What if I’m a failure?
Let me ask you something different:
- What if the opposite is true?
- What if your work is good enough?
- What if people do like you and do want to work with you?
- What if you do become a success?
What you’re telling yourself every day is building on your story. Let’s talk about the story you might be creating in your biz right now. Maybe this is what you’re telling yourself:
- I have to work really hard
- It’s challenging getting new clients
- I find technology really challenging
- Sales conversations are awkward
- I never have enough time to do all I need to do
- I take two steps forward and one step back
- I’m going to have to go back and get a ‘proper’ job
Let’s shine a light on all of this fear, so that you can step into the successful business owner that you want to be.
Here’s a simple exercise for you:
Write down any of the fears that come up for you as you think about your business. These are all becoming your story, and we want to create a much more fabulous story instead!
Once you have a list of your fears, now you can start to do something about them.
I developed an acronym of FEAR, which was inspired by a coach I used to work with. She used, “I see you, I acknowledge you, I release you.”
Here’s what FEAR stands for and how you use the exercise:
F – Feelings – get into the feelings that are coming up for you and write them down E – Express – read them out loud A – Acknowledge – that it’s okay to have those feelings, thank them for showing up and choose to view things differently going forward R – Release – Choose to release them one by one, by focusing on each one and saying “I choose to release you now” as you cross each one off the list
Here’s how it works in practice:
What you’ve written: “I have to work really hard in my business…”
Feeling: Mine is you have to work really hard, that brings up a feeling of anxiety in my tummy, it makes me feel worried that I won’t be able to do the other things that I want to do. (You can write the feeling if you want, or just feel into it – if you can. I often have to ‘think’ into it, but I do know if I really think about the issue it does bring up some kind of sensation/feeling for me)
Express: I have to work really hard to be successful in my business – say this statement out loud
Acknowledge: Say “Thank you for bringing this fear to my attention. I acknowledge you” (your mind is trying to protect you by bringing up this fear), acknowledge that this is how you feel. It’s okay for you to feel that way.
Release: I choose to release you now, cross it off the list. You can even say ‘Rubbish’ or ‘Nonsense’ or whatever word works for you to release any power it has over you. It’s SO freeing! You could even burn or shred the piece of paper, whatever works for you.
Now sometimes the fears don’t come back, but I’ve found that sometimes they are persistent and will still be there which is where we can then dig a bit more. The more you work on your fear, the easier you can clear it.
So, it’s time to let it all go and start creating a new, more empowering story.
Don’t let fear stop you from sharing what you do with the world. You’ve been given gifts and talents that people need you to share!
Your call to action: Shine the light on your fears by writing them out and working through them.
Here’s a link to my Fabulous Resource Centre: http://bit.ly/FabResCtr You’ll also get access to lots of other biz resources too!
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