Fear as a Sidekick
I'll be speaking at a company later this morning. Right on cue, the fear is creeping in. I knew it was coming, as it always comes right about now. And by "fear," I mean something that resembles absolute terror. Many people don't know this, but my professional speaking career began with my desire to overcome my overly dramatic fear of public speaking. While I still get nerves leading up to my speaking events, at least it no longer involves profuse vomiting into whatever trash can is nearby.
I don't know about you, but I live in some level of fear most weeks. Fear of failure. Fear of not being good enough. Fear of letting the other person down. Fear of not living up to my potential. The fear of not making the impact I'm called to make.
To be honest, I don't think there's anything weird or bad about this. In fact, I'll take it one more step. I think fear is a common ingredient for impact. If we look around and see all the progress, innovation, and productivity around us, most of it was created in the shadow of fear. Creation is scary. Impact is scary. Progress is scary. Thus, fear is often an organic sidekick when we go about our business.
I hope you're scared this week. I hope you endeavor to do something that scares the living daylights out of you. I hope you pursue fear in a way that will make a deep and meaningful impact on someone. Maybe it's a bit pitch at work. Maybe it's an important prospect meeting. Maybe it's a one-on-one with one of your direct reports (or your boss). Maybe it's a big test at school. Maybe it's a job interview. Maybe it's the next step in something you're trying to build. Whatever it is, lean into the fear headfirst and know it's not only normal, but natural. It means you care. It means you're pushing yourself. It means you're trying to make an impact in this world. Embrace the fear…it means you’re on the right track.
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