Overcome Your Fear Of Trying Something New
Have you ever had New Year’s resolutions? Although they’re stapled in nearly everyone’s holiday routines, for some reason, we seem to have a hard time getting around to doing all the new things we promise to try.
One of the reasons why our resolutions often fail is that we tend to be overly optimistic in our holiday-induced haze. The other reason is more common and far less poetic: there’s an inherent risk of failure in trying something new and if there is one thing humans are afraid of, it’s failure. While the purpose of this fear is to protect us, it can also stop us from achieving our full potential.
In this article, I’ll take a closer look at the nature of the fear of trying or starting something new and how to overcome it.
Conquering fear means harnessing the fear response and using it to your advantage. Learning how to conquer fear begins with finding your center. Here are dependable tips to overcome fear and anxiety so you can live life at its fullest.
1. Identify Your Fears
Learning how to overcome fear is much like any problem-solving challenge in that you must identify the challenge in order to overcome it. What is it you’re afraid of? Sit quietly for a few minutes and observe your thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations. Write down what comes up, and be as specific as you can. Consider embracing a daily mindfulness meditation practice to gain greater clarity on what drives you. As you find your center, you’ll feel empowered to confront your fears.
2. Recognize That Fear Can Work To Your Advantage
Our emotions exist to tell us things. When you feel fear, your soul wants to tell you something – so listen. If you feel overcome by stress or distracted by a subtle-but-persistent anxiety, it’s likely a subconscious fear that needs your attention. Rather than avoiding it, overcoming fear requires leaning into your anxiety. View the fear as a piece of information instead of a threat to your survival. When you use anxiety to your advantage, it can’t ruin your life. In overcoming fear, it becomes your ally – a critical source of guidance to reach your full potential.
3. Sit With Your Fear
There are times for action and times for reflection. Acting too quickly to overcome your fear can lead to behaviors that do more harm than good, like reaching for a drink, indulging in comfort food or even repressing the feeling entirely. Next time you feel fearful, do nothing. Sit with your fear for a few minutes. Think about it. What is the root cause? Is it fear of uncertainty? Fear of failure? What is the story you tell yourself about why you can’t overcome this fear? A moment of reflection can have a great effect on overcoming fear in a way that is productive, deliberate and effective.
4. Create Goals That Are “Musts”
Oftentimes the process of overcoming fear becomes stymied by uninspiring or elusive goals we set for ourselves. To turn this around, ask yourself: What does the life you desire and deserve look like? Is it just a “someday, maybe” plan or do you actively work toward it? Is it something that is attainable and you’re willing to commit to? The first step in overcoming fear is identifying whether or not you´re creating a compelling goal. If you accomplish this, will you feel fulfilled? Conversely, if you don’t accomplish this, will you be lost?
Dig deeper into your goal. What is your ideal outcome? Is it financial – more money in the bank? Maybe you want the financial independence to travel anytime, anywhere? Consider what your life will look like if you don’t achieve this outcome and compare it to what your life will look like if you do. Once you feel that your goal is essential, the fear of not making an effort eclipses the fear of failure – that’s when you’ll be inspired to act.
5. Adopt A Growth Mindset
When you’re afraid, you tend to stay in one place. What if you make a mistake? What if you fail? You start to believe you can’t progress at all, that you’re incapable of it – the fear holds you back. One of the most powerful tips to overcome fear and anxiety is to adopt a growth mindset. It’s not about achieving your goals and being perfect every step of the way. No one is ever perfect all the time, so stop striving for that. It’s about getting comfortable with what you don’t know and continuing anyway – this is the foundation of a growth mindset.
“No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow your progress, you’re still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.” As you work to overcome fear, you will realize that there will be lots of trials and tribulations along the way. As soon as you’ve accepted that the path to success includes growth and change, you’ll be one step closer to attaining your goals.