Mindset plays a huge role in your business and how you show up, and more importantly how it makes you feel on a daily basis.

Fear is natural when you run your own business. There are so many things to learn and so many things to do. It’s no wonder our mindset monkeys act up and try to protect us.

In order to grow your business though, you need to be brave and push through your comfort zones.

Some of the most common fears are:

  1. Fear of failure

  2. Fear of embarrassment

  3. Fear of rejection

  4. Fear of success

  5. Fear of the unknown

The Two Real Fears

When you think about your business it’s likely that most of these come up at one point or another. Ask any successful business owner if they’ve ever been afraid, and more often than not they can share many stories with you where they’ve had to push through their fear.

Did you know that there are only two real fears, the rest are ones that we have created? They are

  1. Loud noise

  2. Falling

All other fears are learnt which is FANTASTIC news because it means we can unlearn them!

Leaving some of the other fears aside for now, let’s check in on where you’re at.

Are you afraid of failure or success, or both?

Fears around failure are often:

  1. I feel like a fraud. What if I’m not as good as people think I am and they find out?

  2. I’m worried I can’t make a success of this despite all of my hard work

  3. What if people are saying, ‘Who does she think she is?’

Fears around success are often:

  1. What if I get so successful I can’t service people in my business?

  2. What if being successful means that I no longer have any time to myself?

  3. What if I get so successful that people online start to get nasty and try to discredit me?

It’s interesting because often clients will have both fears going on at once, and you can imagine how that plays out in your business. One part of you wants to take action, the other is worried that if you do you will be judged, ridiculed, and/or end up having to work so many hours that your dream of freedom disappears as quickly as the idea came.

If either of these fears is running your show, they are where you need to start.

The Cost of Fear

Let’s assess what fear is costing you.

  1. What are you missing out on by not taking action?

  2. How will life be different for you if you just take one small step through fear?

Fear happens. It’s what you do with it that counts

  1. Fear of failure will stop you from creating success as you won’t take the action you need to take.

  2. Fear of success will potentially result in failure as you won’t take the action you need to take.

Here are a few tips to help you get rid of your self-doubt:

  1. Surround yourself with the right people – be held accountable – declare it, stop people-pleasing (new topic coming on that!)

  2. Manage your mindset – catch your negative self-talk – change your inner dialogue

  3. Reframe your self-doubt,  CHOOSE to take control

  4. What’s really going on?  Recognise your excuses

  5. Stop looking for validation

  6. Become an expert

  7. Expect rejection

Be all you can be

While your fear is keeping you safe, that is not going to stretch you and allow you to become all you can be.

Danielle Laporte says that “It’s often best to do the opposite of what fear is telling you”.

Next time you feel the fear of failure or success, ask yourself these questions. Maybe journal your responses to notice any nuggets that come up for you:

  1. What if you couldn’t fail?

  2. What if when you become super successful you get to choose exactly how and when you work/don’t work?

  3. How could you prepare yourself so that you can overcome your fear of failure? (For example, learn how to do video, become the expert at what you do, hire a coach/mentor etc.)

Here are a few strategies to help you move forward:

  1. Visualise yourself being successful

  2. Forget you, focus on the other person

  3. What if … the opposite were true

  4. Gather evidence, build a list of things that help you

  5. Ask for help!  Get input/feedback/paid support

  6. Stay in the present moment

  7. Just start – take one teeny weeny step

  8. Mistakes are ok – give yourself permission

  9. To learn from them, take away learning

The Antidote

The antidote to fear is often to take action, whether that action is learning something new. It might not stop the fear, but you will grow 🙂

“Fear is an assignment to grow and learn.” Gabrielle Bernstein.

Create a mini action plan to move you forward today:

Fill in the gap …. I will no longer allow this fear of _________ to stand in my way

  1. Write down one teeny tiny step you will take

  2. I will _________

  3. When will you take that step?

  4. What needs to happen for you to take that action?

Share in the comments below what your mini action plan is.