What do you do when you feel scared? Do you act in spite of your fear or do you back down and try to stay in the comfort zone?
Your mind, which can be your biggest friend or your worse enemy, is programmed to "protect you" from any pain you feel if you decide to act in spite of your fear. Why did I put the word PROTECT in quotations? Because it is an illusion of protection. If you don't train your mind for a fearless situation, it will always stop you from making a move which may be scary at first but necessary for the future.
Let's cut the crap here and be real. Nothing in life comes easy. When we look at people who accomplished great success or those high-achievers, each and every one of them developed a certain tolerance to pain which is associated with facing their fears.
Here is what I have been doing in the past years to overcome situations which challenged me and scared me.
I linked more pain to my comfort zone and more pleasure to facing my fears.
Let's say that I am afraid to apply for different podcasts interviews because I am terrified of rejection. It just seems too painful to me. But I also know that if I can get those interviews, it will give me the exposure I need and I can share my wisdom with people who listen to a podcast. Now how can I link more pain to my "comfort zone" mindset?
One of the things which really worked for me was visualizing myself in the future. If I don't take advantage of those interviews and don't break my fear of rejection, I will be stuck at the same place 2 or 3 years from now. I will be working at the job which doesn't fulfill me and I will see myself as a loser who "didn't go for it" when the chance was there. In my case, this scared the heck out of me.
Now, let's link pleasure to actually stepping out of my comfort zone and breaking through my fears. I will, again, visualize the outcome of me being courageous. How much can I gain? What types of relationships can I build with people who share the same or similar vision as mine?
The example I just gave you is the situation I dealt with just recently.
The truth is that what terrifies you the most is often the thing you need to do. Change is scary, the unknown carries a certain level of fear. No doubts about it. But choosing comfort which eventually transforms into a regret, isn't this high price to pay?
Change your perspective on fear by understanding that scary is good. It means that there is a reward waiting for you if you are willing to take the risk. Comfort zone is an illusion of comfort and it stops you from growing. The biggest danger lies in your comfort zone.
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