As we navigate crisis and uncertainty, should we work on overcoming our fear?
Fear can feel like you’re trapped in an escape room with no clues. How do we escape the terror of the unknown?
Plato said, “Courage is knowing what to fear.”
What if fear actually has the potential to become our superpower right now? Our “secret sauce” for emerging from this “temporary new normal” even more resilient? With infinitely more grit? Having paved the way for achievements that would have been unimaginable just a few months ago?
Can that be possible?
Mike Tyson’s manager Cuz D’Amato said, “Fear is an energy…Fear is the friend of exceptional people.”
True, you might feel like the fear is paralyzing. But high achievers throughout time haven’t been worried about overcoming fear.
In fact, when you know how to align with it, fear can become a powerful tool. Your ally.
A catalyst for great things.
So here are 3 quick steps to help you (and your team/family) transform your fear into an ally of resilience and grit:
- Take a breath. Be the Samurai before the strike. Breathe consolidates your energy and focus.
- Identify — what is it that you are afraid of. Is it danger or imagination? Know what you can control and then decide to live fully within the context of it. Help the team remember why they are on the team. Be the visionary coach who sees greatness even on the heels of temporary defeat.
- How can you infuse this energy into what you can control? And where can you ask new questions? Can you get creative with the resources that you already have on your team?
So remember the sayings of Burn the Boats or Necessity is the Mother of Invention. Those sayings are repeated throughout generations from experience not of defeat. They are reminders of success even in the midst of impossible odds. And yes, in the midst of fear.
So look, now may be a time of great change and unpredictability. And yes — in many cases — fear.
Know that great things have been accomplished throughout time precisely thanks to the energy of fear.
You just have to focus on what to fear, how to use that fear and how to allow that fear to guide you and your team to your next massive success.
Resilience isn’t about never getting hit. It’s about making sure that the impact propels you where you want to go.
So where do you intend to go? And how can harnessing the energy of fear ignite you?
Leaders who exude true GRIT expect ultimate victory. And if they aren’t seeing the victory yet, the game is not over.
Having imperfections and scars are badges of honor worn proudly by the mighty. We adapt. We innovate. And yes, we soar.
So rather than try to overcome fear, why not embrace the fear? You’ve got this!
