Successful people lean into fear.
Everybody feels fear, bravery is not the elimination of fear. Bravery is the ability to push the fear aside and move forward. And the bravery to push through fear rewards us because we attract things based on what we do, not what we want.
This concept manifests itself in a variety of ways and professions. I recall reading an NYT piece about how winter Olympians deal with fear: “The athletes who perform these daring feats are not crazy. They are not reckless. But they do have one thing in common that might surprise those of us who watch. They are scared. Every one of them.” In the online arena, cringe mountain represents the internalized fear of retribution required to become a public figure.
TL;DR, you need to be able to push fear aside to unlock your potential. Acknowledge your fear. Acknowledge that it is meant to keep you safe. But also acknowledge that your fear is holding you back. Your ability to perform is not holding you back. Your fear of retribution is.
How to get out of your comfort zone?
Change how you think.
Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck popularized the idea that individuals who embrace a growth mindset can harness challenges as opportunities for growth. They don’t see failure as an impediment, they see failure as an opportunity to develop, stretch abilities, and grow. Whereas people with a fixed mindset see every setback as a judgment of their abilities, and therefore, value.
People with a growth mindset get more done because they spend less time fearing opinion, criticism, and retribution.
Change how you talk
U Penn’s Martin Seligman recommends adding “yet” to the end of any sentence describing something that you cannot do. “I can’t forecast the pipeline yet.” “I can’t snowboard yet.” "I haven’t launched my blog yet.”
Change what you think about
To be great at anything in life, we have to drive all resources towards the thing we want to be great at. It takes 23 minutes to recover from a distraction.
Attention is a zero-sum game. When we procrastinate, divert attention, or let our fear limit us, we are actively sidelining our goals.
Remember, the fear is always there for the ride. It will always be there for the ride. Don’t be scared of fear.
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