Do you desire to meet your ideal self? Start by developing the courage you need.
The easiest way to realize your full potential is to make efforts to live boldly and venture outside of your comfort zone.
The issue is that a lot of us allow our anxieties to stand in the way. We hesitate to apply for jobs out of concern that we aren’t qualified enough. We hold back on negotiating terms to increase our check stubs. Or we hold back from making a constructive change in our lives out of a fear of the unknown.
Does it sound familiar? That’s because fear is a universal emotion. It’s an average human feeling. However, constantly dwelling on the “what-if” might limit us in both our personal and professional lives.
It takes a little acting to get past our anxieties. Let’s examine nine potent suggestions for becoming bold and courageous.
Are you afraid of making decisions that could change your life because of fear?
It is possible for fear to make you feel helpless.
Nothing can happen in your life if you are too afraid of what can occur or of making the wrong choice. You stay in your cozy, comfortable comfort zone rather than making any significant life decisions.
However, clinging to your comfort zone too tightly might be harmful. It can prevent you from achieving any form of emotional, professional, or personal growth.
Personal Growth
We are all engaged in individual journeys of personal development. We go through things that continue throughout our entire lives. Many things can be seen as personal growth:
• Discovering your purpose
• Establishing and attaining goals
• Surpassing your potential
• Developing your self-esteem
Our remarkable growth happens when we overcome obstacles and trying circumstances. Fear then kicks in at that point. You name it: fear of failing or fear of the unknown.
Your personal development is momentarily hampered when you allow fear to become a barrier that blocks the progress of your own life. We withdraw into our shells rather than improve our mental health and evolve. In order to prevent unpleasant emotions, we also dodge new experiences.
We eventually begin to feel empty because we aren’t leading true lives. We remain in a safe area that we’ve long outgrown rather than making progress.
Emotional Growth
Your emotional development is hampered if you avoid events that force you outside of your comfort zone out of fear. You lose out on the opportunity to build the solid emotional capacities you need for success in both your professional and personal life. These consist of:
• Strengthening resilience
• Developing emotional control
• Boosting emotional quotient
• Increasing self-awareness
A lack of emotional growth might make you very vulnerable to unforeseen or stressful circumstances. In contrast to the positive kind of stress that promotes growth, this kind of persistent and acute stress is referred to as “bad stress.”
For instance, a weakness of resilience will cause you to see obstacles at work as dangers rather than chances. Your ability to function at work and adjust to these new surroundings are both impacted by this.
You won’t be able to handle difficult circumstances in your professional and personal lives if you consistently avoid opportunities for emotional growth.
Professional growth
The numerous facets of your professional development might also be impacted by fear. Fear of failure, in Laura Garnett’s opinion, is one of the factors that prevent you from achieving achievement.
Imagine that your current position is not fulfilling. Although you are aware that you’ll have to change careers, you are putting off taking action because you are afraid of failing. So you continue to live there for another year, two years, or three years.
This is only one instance of why the fear of failure hinders your ability to advance professionally. You decide to feel secure rather than improving in your profession, acquiring new skills, and being in a position consistent with your genuine potential.
Fear of failure is strongly intertwined with the fear of not being good enough. This is yet another common impediment to your professional development that manifests as imposter syndrome.
In this case, you may be hesitant to assume a position of leadership because you do not believe you are capable.
When you let fear run your professional life, it will continuously prevent you from making important decisions that will push you forward.
Is fear always a bad thing?
Not all instances of fear are negative. And besides, fear is and always has been a natural and healthy reaction to dangerous situations. It sets off our fight-or-flight response and protects us from prospective threats.
True fear doesn’t strike us as frequently as it did when our ancestors lived in caves. However, there are times when it can appear as a gut instinct or even a sudden instinct.
Picture yourself strolling down a dark street. Your instincts pick up on subtle cues that you might be in danger, and fear takes hold. Your life can be saved in these situations by paying attention to your body’s intuition.
The human emotion of fear is also quite strong. Your most in need of improvement area may be pointed out to you by it. Finding out a person’s greatest fear will lead to his next development, according to psychiatrist Carl Jung.
In other words, facing your greatest fear will result in the best personal growth.
For instance, if you’re shy in front of a large number of people, deliver a presentation. It may be quite powerful and aid in your growth as a more self-assured individual. If you want to maintain your competitiveness in the job market today, you must develop and perfect your public speaking abilities. Learning how to write a TED talk script can be a great channel on improving public speaking.
On the other hand, fear becomes an issue when it prevents you from living your life to its fullest on a regular basis.
This fear frequently appears as anxiousness. Your constant reaction to situations that might not actually threaten you is anxiety. Furthermore, these are things you predict that might not occur rather than actual threats.
Here are a few instances:
• Fear of being criticized and badly seen by others in public settings
• Not doing new things because you worry about failing and being rejected
• Fear of uncertainty and change
• Avoiding pursuing your goals because you believe you are insufficient
This kind of dread prevents you from stepping outside of your comfort zone and deprives you of possibilities and life-improving experiences.
Although it takes time, it is possible to get over some typical concerns.
3 Tricks to Become a More Courageous Person
1. Acknowledge and Confront your fear.
Never make an effort to ignore your fear. It will provide it with extra power.
Instead, you must accept and acknowledge your anxieties. There is no shame in the fact that we all have them. Bravery is the ability to face fear head-on while still taking action.
It’s important to comprehend the underlying causes of your anxiety in order to effectively confront it.
Ask yourself why, for example, if you’re hesitant to apply for a new position or ask for a raise. Is it possible you won’t understand it? Do you fear humiliation, failure, or rejection?
You’ll quickly come to see that your fear is frequently an attempt by your ego to prevent itself from feeling inferior. Actually, going through these things will only make you stronger, not weaker.
2. Ease your inner critic by writing.
In addition to the vicious voice in your head that tells you you can’t be successful, people will mock you, or you’re not good enough, physical panic can also prevent you from achieving your innermost ambitions. The majority of us attempt to ignore or argue with our inner critics, however, Swoboda recommends an alternative approach.
“We’re in a better position to learn from it if we can spend some time listening to our inner critic without attachment—without the urge to dismiss or embrace what it is saying,” she adds. “Expressive writing can help us understand the sources of our critical thoughts and to get useful information without getting hijacked.”
3. Practice mindfulness.
Being present in the moment at all times is essential to practicing mindfulness in all facets of your life. You can get relief from stress and anxiety by engaging in mindfulness exercises like breathwork and meditation.
Fear is entirely manufactured in the mind, according to mindfulness expert and “The Power of Now” author Tara Brach.
You’re constantly more concerned with potential outcomes than what is truly happening right now. He is referring to a worry rather than a direct threat. He is referring to sentiments of uneasiness, anxiety, or worry over a hypothetical future issue.
You can train yourself to be mindful by observing your thoughts. You also learn to resist letting them control you and exaggerate your fear.