As an aspiring entrepreneur, one of the constant struggles you will face will actually be internal, and that is your own fear. A lot of fear comes with every step you take in starting your business, expanding it, and taking it to the next level. Every single entrepreneur has to deal with this natural process. However, in order to be successful with your business venture, you have to face your fear at every stage.
WHAT IS FEAR?
Fear is that little voice in our head that whispers into our ears whenever we try to get out of the comfort zone. Fear prevents us from embarking on entrepreneurial endeavors, taking the steps we need to take, having tough conversations, making big choices, and many of the things that matter to us in general. Fear causes our good intentions to sabotage themselves and prevents us from doing what we want to do.
In this article, we will discuss ways to overcome this fear to accomplish your business goals.
STAGES OF OVERCOMING FEAR
COMFORT ZONE
The comfort zone can be a place where you feel secure or comfortable. It is where your activities fall into a routine such that you don’t experience much stress while you’re going along with the flow you’re used to. Once you step out of this place, you experience confusion.
FEAR ZONE
This is the stage where you may choose to branch out of your familiar environment and decide to do something new, such as starting a new business. Now, you might feel like you’ve lost some self-confidence when you’re in the Fear Zone, and so you may be inclined to make excuses to come back to your comfort zone. But this is natural because we intrinsically seek comfort in adverse situations.
The Fear Zone, however, is simply a temporary position that will drive you towards an improved mentality. Once you gain some confidence and start to have faith in yourself, you can soon progress to the Learning Zone.
LEARNING ZONE
The learning zone is the stage where you have newfound confidence to tackle your issues head-on. Whether it is hiring people, managing your finances, or delegating tasks, you will learn new abilities and gain experiences while tackling these hurdles, which will enable you to broaden the comfort zone you built for yourself and start doing things that you did not expect to be able to do before.
GROWTH ZONE
Finally, in the Growth Zone, you can live with a sense of purpose as well as freedom. A key indication that you’re finally in the Growth Zone is having a new way of thinking. You will be motivated to plan new objectives and goals that you are sure that you will accomplish within your business plan.
7 KEY TIPS TO OVERCOME FEAR
During the journey from your comfort zone to your growth zone, the following seven secrets to success may come in handy.
1. IDENTIFY YOUR FEARS
What exactly are you afraid of? Take some time and write them down one by one. Only when you know your fears will you be able to overcome them.
Are you scared that you’re not ready to start a venture? Or that your idea is not good enough? Maybe you’re afraid of failure. Whatever those fears may be, identify them so you can work towards removing them.
2. PLAN YOUR GOALS
Note down a model of what you want to achieve in your business and break it down into steps. Create a plan to help you accomplish each step—set benchmarks for yourself and mini-milestones for your company.
3. DEVELOP A POSITIVE MENTALITY
There are going to be occasions when you end up with negative results despite putting in a lot of hard work. Your business may encounter loss, or you may lose valuable clients or resources. But keep in mind that these things are natural, and they will happen at some point. However, you may receive feedback that shows you the ways to do it better. Use these pieces of advice to make your next attempt even stronger.
4. RECALL YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Many struggling entrepreneurs tend to forget that whatever accomplishments they have achieved in the past were only possible because they had courage. So, by revising your most significant achievements, you can remind yourself that your courage and resilience are the reasons why you are here.
5. TAKE ACTION, EVEN IF IT IS ONE STEP
This one is plain and simple – quit procrastinating. When you’re anxious, it’s tempting to put things off, but waiting only makes it harder and leads you to more stress. If you need to, take baby steps, but do at least one thing, no matter how small it may be.
6. FIND YOUR SUPPORT SYSTEM
A support group is essential because it is one of the best ways to help resolve anxiety. Find and surround yourself with people who are like-minded people, who can relate to what you’re going through, give you advice when needed, and, when the going gets tough and anxiety begins to creep in, be there for you.
7. LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES
In order to maximize your chances of success, focus on the things you’ve learned from each negative experience and figure out how to use these lessons to get to the next stage.
FINAL WORDS
Overcoming fear is not something that can be achieved overnight. But as long as you stay positive and persevere, you will be able to get past it. Until then, breathe in and face your fears one day at a time!