How to Overcome This Major Impediment to Success!

I went to Washington DC a few weeks ago, and one of the sites I visited was the FDR Memorial. Of course, FDR is famous (among other things) for stating, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” when discussing the Great Depression.

Without a doubt, fear is one of the main reasons many of us fail to get what we want. But why? Why do we let it keep us from reaching our potential? Is it because fear of the unknown dominates our thoughts? Humans are pessimistic by nature in my opinion. When presented with the glass half empty/half full scenario, a significant majority of us will answer half-empty.

Fear is a behavioral response when faced with a certain action. It is nothing more than a state of mind. Napoleon Hill presented the following formula in his best- selling book: Think and Grow Rich

Indecision==>doubt==>fear

Therefore, the basis of all fear is indecision, the inability to make decisions quickly. When this happens, every little doubt will creep in our minds, many of which are invalid. If we can eliminate this, then most of our fears will disappear. How do we do this?

1) Identify the Fear: What is it we are really afraid of? For example, if I start a business, will I lose all of my savings? If I live to 90, will I outlive my savings?

2) Ask yourself what’s the worst that could happen? Most of the time, the answer will be much less than we anticipated. The two in the example above are legit worst-case scenarios. What do we do then?

3) Take Action: The first is to begin with the end in mind. In any action, what is the desired result? For example, if we are starting a business, what will it look like a year from now? Five years from now? 25 years from now? Write down all of your goals and be specific on the numbers and the time it will take to accomplish. Once you do this, you’ll be able to fill-in the blanks and eliminate most of your fears. When dealing with fear, it’s important to understand the concept of risk, which is the uncertainty of present conditions on future outcomes. The two go hand-in-hand. This uncertainty is the crux to indecision. Try to quantify them if possible. Also, try scenario analysis. This means changing a few variables and analyzing the impact. For example, let’s say you are planning for retirement in 20 years. The main factors are time, rate of return, and savings. How does a longer time frame affect the outcome? What happens if you earn a few percentage points less of return each year? Once you have a firm grasp of the risks involved in any decision, you’ll discover that your fears will disappear.

Remember, you are the master of your own fate. You alone control your thoughts. Use these tips to keep the outside forces from taking over and prevent you from getting what you want.

Do you agree with FDR?