How to push past fear.
Fear.
Such a small word can render us immobile. It has the capability to stop us in our tracks with all the force of a Mack truck. But remember, it's a hurdle that can be overcome with the right mindset and strategies.
Do you have your own fears? There are many types of fear. We are going to focus on entrepreneurial fear, the things that are keeping you stuck from creating that business plan, launching that product, offering that service, or the growth mindset to move your business forward.
Some of the most common business owner fears among successful entrepreneurs are:
Fear of rejectionNot being good enoughFear of the unknownFear of pushing past their comfort zoneFear of successFear of failureFear of the worst-case scenario
Fear can feel overwhelming. It can trigger feelings of self-doubt, hinder your ability to make important decisions and keep you from implementing an awesome business idea.
The business leaders I know have all felt fear in their entrepreneurial journey. At some point, they have also allowed fear to keep them from their forward trajectory. But remember, it's in these moments that we learn the most about ourselves and our businesses and how to push past it.
Pushing past entrepreneurial fear is a skill. You must get comfortable being uncomfortable and force yourself to take the steps anyway.
You have dealt with and will continue to deal with fear many, many times in your professional or personal life. The more often you learn to deal with fear, the easier the process becomes.
What separates a successful business owner from those who get stuck?
Mastering a process to walk through it.
Identify
Break down
Plan & Action
Self Care
Motivate
Identify
First, what is it that you are afraid of? This isn’t the time for you to think through all the things in life that scare you. Keep focused. What idea or big decision are you considering? Are you afraid to build that product? Launch that business? Write that book? What is it that is scaring you about this thing?
Jot these down. Read them, but remind your body not to get stressed while doing so. This is the first step toward dealing with fear; recognize this acknowledgment for the strengthening tool it will be for you.
Break down
Write down realistic goals for what you want to achieve (the thing that you are afraid of). Keep this focused. You do not want to write down 25 goals; we don’t want this to be overwhelming. Pick 1-3 big goals that you would like to achieve (around the thing that you are afraid of), and get them on paper.
Now, you’re going to break those down further. You want to make these manageable, achievable tasks. Again, avoid long lists here. Keep your focus.
If the goal is to launch a new product, your lists should look like:
What I feel afraid of but want to achieve (example):
Launch Cuddle with Care Bears by June 2025.
Plan & Action
Now that you’ve identified your big goal and broken it down into other small actionable goals, you are ready to get started.
Make your plan and take action on it. Create that time in your day and week to take the small steps forward. Create the product
Create Lead Magnet- Monday morning
Create an email sequence of 7-10 emails to give value & exclusive offer- work on 1 email a day until complete
Create 6 month content calendar so I can stay ahead and be more time efficient- take 30 minutes each day to research and put in spreadsheet
Allow time for things like figuring out how to upload that lead magnet, doing some market research to help you plan your calendar, etc…
By moving through this process you are removing the overwhelm of fear. You are giving your brain to focus on the things it can control. You are also taking action to help move yourself forward.
Don’t forget to celebrate the wins as you go!
Self Care
Lean in close, my fellow entrepreneurs and I will tell you a secret…I have 3 things I prioritize every single day that I believe offer me the very best self-care routine. They have nothing to do with the spa, although sometimes I go. They have nothing to do with exercise and diet, although I exercise and eat well daily.
For me, what I needed to embrace and implement in my life to allow me to feel more nurtured were time reading the bible, rest, and play.
It took me a long time to realize that these two things were a powerhouse of renewal for myself.
Especially when we are dealing with things that are negative, or highly emotional negative energy, which fear is… you want to have a way to balance this.
Implementing bible reading every single morning was an easy addition to my lifestyle when I first started. I had the bible, I just needed to crack it open.
Getting rest wasn’t so easy. I learned a ton about rest from reading Dr. Saundra Dalton Smith’s, Sacred Rest in which she lays out seven (yes, SEVEN) different types of rest. Who knew?! (If you want more information on rest but don’t want to grab that book, email me mj@mjjames.com)
If you haven't already, now is the time to implement your most robust self-care routines.
Motivate
When I think about fear, I think about getting stuck in a loop of negative thoughts. One small thought will soon have me spiraling down the rabbit hole, convincing myself of my complete ineptitude and utter ridiculousness for even thinking of trying to achieve X.
Are you familiar with Bob Newhart’s famous skit, “Stop it!”? Overthinking creeps up for me a lot when I am feeling fear. I’m able to stop it in its tracks by hearing Bob Newhart shout, “Stop it!” at me when I start sliding into that loop.
Then, I grab my cell phone and whip open a really powerful tool, ThinkUp. I love this app because it allows you to record positive affirmations that you can listen to multiple times a day with just a quick click.
When pushing through fear, creating an environment that allows you to navigate through it is really important. Regaining some of your “in charge” feeling by creating the lists above is the beginning. Keeping your mindset strong is the other key component.
It's your choice whether to write affirmations, use ThinkUp, or devise your own way of keeping yourself motivated to achieve your goals. Just make sure you do this step.
Fear is a difficult thing, made harder by our eagerness to believe every negative thing about ourselves. If we learn how to trick ourselves into moving past it, then fear will never again keep us immobile. A positive mindset makes a huge difference.
While we are on this subject, here is a gentle reminder to look at your inner circle. In your professional life, are you surrounded by like-minded individuals? Do you have a business coach who helps inspire, motivate and help you push past fear to take action? It's important to have the right people around you both in your personal and professional life. If you are not familiar with John Rohn's Average of Five, check it out here.
F.E.A.R.
You’ve heard this before, but I will lay it out again.
You can Forget Everything And Run or Face Everything And Rise. The mindset is completely in your hands, and the steps forward are completely within your reach—and that's good news!
Knowing that you have a process to walk yourself through the fears you will encounter in your business venture is a valuable resource. Instead of sitting in fear, you can take hold of it with proper planning and focus. That sort of takes the spinning fear and puts it in its place. It's ok to feel fear, but we can't get lost in it. Those of us who own businesses know that the best thing to help move through fear with new ideas is to take control of the decision-making process.
So, release your emotions, examine your fears on paper, plan, and take action. Throughout it all, remember to nurture yourself every day and surround yourself with the right support to help you make the right decisions and grow. In this, fear takes a backseat to focus!
