There are now less than 100 days until the end of the year: 84 until the C-word. Have those two thoughts triggered some anxiety? If so, what is the reason? Do you suddenly feel a sense of urgency as the year is nearly up and you still have loads that you would like to accomplish? Or, are you wishing that you are better prepared for this final quarter of the year? Or, that you had started your festive shopping in February? 😉
Perhaps, like me, you have been doing lots of new and different things and know that you have to do these because otherwise you will not achieve your particular goals. If, what you normally do has not worked so far, you have to test out other ways, right?
As doing new things equals change and therefore potential disruption and a lot more energy and effort is involved, our brain can conspire to decide that it is all far too scary and therefore, if we follow the path of least resistance (aka the existing hardwiring of neural connections in our brain) it is easier to stay as we are. The feeling of fear can keep us stuck and our dreams and goals unaccomplished.
Fear has been explained as false evidence appearing real. Or face everything and rise. From a brain view, we are running a particular programme in our mind, a pattern of neural connections and our body will respond accordingly. Fear is not going away soon. The fear that you are feeling is unlikely to be motivated out of you; it is not going to disappear. Your body is giving you a warning message. Stop.
Preparing and analysing potential pitfalls will help you to feel better and mitigate risk. Plus, previous fears overcome will remind you that the fear thinking and body response might diminish as soon as you do whatever it is that you are scared of. However, in some cases, it may not – it may take a little time.
The key to achieving your goals and creating peak performance is to act in spite of fear. And keep repeating. And keep repeating. Focus on having courage instead. Transform the energy wasted on focusing on what may happen to the thinking about the benefits of everything turning out okay. Then take action.
You have the same super-natural* ability to do this whether you are in the public eye or not.
Refrain from allowing yourself to be haunted by the ghost of fear this Hallowe’en.
Your guaranteed one life is too precious for that. The big stuff that you want is on the other side of fear.
So what action are you going to take towards your goals in spite of fear this month?
*See what I did with October’s traditional spooky theme there? 😉