Key To Moving Through Fear

By Aleta Pippin
Posted Friday, August 6, 2004

PA new idea for a business has just found its way into your thinking. You're excited. You can hardly wait to get started. Then fear comes up. You begin questioning your idea. Is it really good? Is there a market? How much money will it take to get started? I don't know anything about starting a business, what makes me think I can do this? I must be out of my mind!

PBack at work in a job that doesn't fulfill you, you feel utter frustration with yourself. Your internal conversation is probably going something like - "I finally get a great idea and I talk myself out of it. I'm never going to get out of this grind. Why don't I have more courage to change my life." Now your justifying voice kicks in. "Oh, cut yourself some slack. You have a family to support. House payments. Car payments. You don't have to like your job. Besides you only have 20 years to retirement."

PRegardless of the justifying voice, you feel stuck in a life that is definitely not reflective of that vision you had as a child and you wonder how you got to this point. You feel utter despair.

PThere's hope. It's simply a matter of understanding what happened. Change automatically evokes fear. But that doesn't have to paralyze you. The fear surfaced for a reason.

PFirst of all, it's crucial to understand that fear really is your friend. Pay attention to what it's telling you. In this case, its saying that you're more comfortable with your present circumstances then where your new desire could potentially take you. And, in truth you are.

PIf fear has you by the throat, you're not ready to launch your dream yet. How do you overcome the fear or at least diminish it? You spend enough time imagining living your desire that you become so comfortable you "feel" as if you're actually living it.

PWhile your visioning it, completely immerse yourself in the "feeling" of your vision. See the images, smell the smells, walk in that world, touch the people, live your dream. When you've lived your dream enough, you'll be moved to take action to launch it.

POur society has been misled about how to reach their goals. The approach is backwards. You've been told to figure out what you want, set up the steps that will get you there, then take action...in some cases exhaustive action, to reach your goal. Also in this approach, when you define the steps to reach your goal, fear will surface. The action steps seem overwhelming.

PHere's what's wrong with that approach. Until you've spent enough time with your goal or dream to feel good about it right down to your toes, you really don't know whether you can sustain your physical effort long enough to create it.

PAlso, you evoke fear when you outline the steps to reach your goal. You've overwhelmed yourself. It's like trying to eat the elephant in one bite. And if you launch your dream from that perspective, you're doomed to failure.

PAnother thing that happens when you outline the specific steps is that you're limiting how your desire may be created. You cut yourself off from the opportunities that show up but don't "look" exactly like you think they should.

PWhat if you took a different approach, one where you "see" and "feel" the result you desire? Now your action is inspired, no longer prompted by outside stimuli. You become a magnet attracting the people, places and opportunities necessary to turn your great idea into reality.

PYou may think this sounds impractical. But, it worked for me. I founded my business in Houston by visualizing it before the doors opened. I saw and felt everything there was to feel about that business. Including the clients - so happy with our service, they were smiling when they paid their invoices.

POf course - two of the greatest books written (up until my "Sit Still and Succeed" program) - Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich" and Dr. Maxwell Maltz's "Psycho-Cybernetics" discuss in detail the power of visualization.

PHow do you visualize?

P1. Create in your mind the movie of how your life would be if you were living your heart's desire.

P2. Conjure this image so strongly in your mind that you see, smell, taste it.

P3. Notice if you're spending more time enjoying the image or more time afraid that you can't accomplish it.

P4. Come back to the visualization at various times throughout the day. You don't have to set aside 15 minutes to get into it. Just see yourself there. You can do this in a few seconds if that's all of the time you have.

P5. Keep in mind that if this desire is really important to you, fear will probably come up.

P6. Persist with your visualization, breathing life into your dream until it becomes more important than the fear. When your feelings are aligned with your belief, you're on your way.

P7. When you reach the point where stepping out to create your dream seems like the next logical step, you're ready. If it feels like a do or die situation, you're not ready because you're still coming from a place of fear and you will sabotage yourself.

PYou have greatness inside of you. But how will you ever know until you spend some time there?

About the Author
P(c)'00 by Aleta Pippin, founder Authentic Entrepreneuring, coaching for individuals and small business owners who want to unleash your inner power to create true success from the inside out. Take your life and your business to the next level. Visit (http://www.aentrepreneur.com) for more information and to sign up for your free newsletter.