Business is about people. Without people, there wouldn’t be any business. No employees. No customers. When working with other people every day in business, all their experiences, personal and professional, come with them too. The same is true for yourself. That especially includes the element of fear; both good and bad fear. For success in business, it is essential to understand and recognize the different types of fear – and how fear may affect your business results.
Fear is an interesting component of daily living. Without fear, humanity would not survive. You may actually not be as successful as you are in business. All because of fear – and the different types and responses you have to fear.
You learned fear as a child in many different ways.
For example:
- Remember when your mother told you not to touch the stove because it was hot?
- That very first day of school?
- Asking someone to the school dance?
- What about the first time you may have dived into the deep end of the pool or stepped up onto the field to play your first team sport?
Were you fearful or fearless?
Over the course of life, you gather these accumulated fears together to form who you are as a business person. If you are a CEO, president or business owner, fear shapes your leadership and management style.
Throughout the course of the business day, consciously or subconsciously, these different types of fear contribute to your business decisions and actions. Sometimes, the fear is unrealistic. It can potentially hold you back from success by not being assertive enough at the right time. Timing is everything in business. That’s why understanding fear is so important to your success – and to the success of your employees, co-workers and business associates. You, personally, may not be experiencing any level of fear but a business team member may which can ultimately lead to less successful endeavors rather than MORE success.
To put it in simple terms, there are two types of fear:
1.) Bad fear debilitates you. Unrealistic fear keeps you from getting to where you want to be.
2.) Good fear inspires you to take calculated risks by thinking through the business situation. Good fear is what keeps you ahead of the competition and to do a better job than others.
Either way, fear keeps you aware of your business surroundings each day. It keeps you focused on what’s next and necessary to get the job done.
It’s a matter of what you do with that fear inside of you. It can figuratively speaking, paralyze you, or it can push you to move forward. Completely your choice.
When you’re sitting at your work desk each day with multiple business problems and issues surrounding you, as a CEO, president or business owner when any level of fear rises up from within yourself, ask:
- Why am I uncomfortable?
- Am I uncomfortable because there is something really to be afraid or fearful of?
- Is the fear unrealistic or realistic? If so, how? How best to handle it?
If you can stop and ask yourself questions like those listed above, you’ll be able to more realistically assess every situation. You’ll find yourself worrying less. Feeling less stressed. You won’t let unrealistic fear overtake you. The fear that propels you to success each day will keep you sharp and alert to achieving your business goals, whatever they may be, large or small.
The key is to get past the fear you are sensing inside yourself. The only way to do that is to think through the situation and then push through the fear. Once you get past the barrier of fear, and get to the other side of fear, you will understand so much more about yourself, others and business. When a similar situation arises in the future, you’ll recognize the associated familiar feelings of fear and know what to do/not to do. It will make you a more successful business person.
In summary, how do the different types of fear affect your success in business?
Fear is about paying attention. Feeling something inside you or others you work with causes something to not feel quite right. Then paying attention enough to determine what you can do about it and if it really is a problem or not.
- Fear can hold you back from making BIG business mistakes.
- Fear can also hold you back from pursuing business opportunities of a lifetime.
Determine which type of fear is good or bad for you and your business when the circumstances present themselves.
Learn how to recognize, acknowledge and separate yourself from the different types of fear. When you do, look forward to successful, productive, profitable business days!
To your success!
Business expert and strategist, Howard Lewinter, guides – focuses – advises CEOs, presidents and business owners throughout the United States to MORE success – MORE profit – less stress. Business problems? Business issues? Get MORE from your business! Talk business with Howard: 888-738-1855.
Published as a guest post on the Nimble blog.