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Entrepreneurship is exciting. It’s also terrifying.
Fear is an inevitable companion for entrepreneurs and appears in various forms: omitted possibilities, embarrassment and failure. This is something I met and I needed to work with my co -founder for 19 years, developing Wistia.
As people, we are conditioned to be afraid of things that make us feel uncomfortable. This fear will be your worst enemy and stop you in the world of startups. It can force it, refrain from moving forward, and even prevent you from attempting to do something first.
But here is the secret: facing and dealing with these fears is crucial for making progress in business. If you do not push and do not go along the way, you and the company will not develop.
Some of my most respected lessons got here from the times I failed. So if you read it and let fear stand in your way, this is your sign to bend over it.
Covering fear as an entrepreneur
The founders who are the most successful are not good in managing fear. They know how one can use it as energy to drive yourself and your firms forward. It requires work and time.
I still wonder how one can transform fear into something positive, but here are some lessons that I learned by covering my fears:
Don’t think about your fear.
The longer you let you be afraid in your mind, the more power it has above you.
In the face of fear, I prefer to face him and as soon as possible. First of all, I focus on what I can control in this case. If I can not do anything, I go further and move energy to what I can influence.
Shortening the time when fear must spoil my head, I avoid considering and guessing again. The motion is an antidote to think about. The sooner you confront with fear, the less time you will devote to him ruining the day – or a week.
Approach fear as an indicator as an alternative of an inhibitor.
I learned to treat fear as a signal, not a blocker.
When fear appears in my work, I think it is a sign that I have to listen and delve into every little thing that causes my response.
Often, fear tells me that something essential is developing. This may signal that I intend to take a high risk or enter the unknown territory. And this is where the height happens.
Usually, if I confront this fear proactively, I can use it to resolve the problem or solve the problem faster. In this fashion I can change this fear into something that helps me develop.
Don’t let the “headlight effect” work with you.
This is the truth: many entrepreneurs are caught in the “headlight effect”.
It is then that we think that everyone is watching and assessing every little thing we do. The reality is that most individuals do not pay as much attention to you as you think.
Especially when you are at an early stage of your organization, remember that you have much more freedom than you think. People don’t expect you to be perfect. They expect you to learn, adapt and try.
Stop worrying about every little mistake or failure. We are all the time our most difficult critic. Especially, especially in the early days of your organization, give yourself the freedom to experiment and failure.
This might be the first step towards something amazing.
District fear and excitement.
Our bodies react to fear and excitement in a similar way, which will be very misleading. You will often meet this in situations in which you are emotionally invested.
While fear can paralyze, excitement and rush of adrenaline can lead you forward. A terrific example is that the feeling too familiar before the presentation. You are prepared. You are pumped. You are excited that I can start. Then your hands begin to sweat and your heart begins to race.
It once happened to me during a great conversation and I left that it was a disaster. My nerves were taken over and I assumed that the audience had pulled out. But when the opinion appeared, I used to be stunned, hearing praise.
What I perceived as a response of fear was actually an excitement. It was a approach to signal my body that I deeply cared for this topic and desired to do my best.
In the heat of the moment, fear and excitement could seem the same. But when I learned to tell apart them, every little thing modified. When I feel that adrenaline hurry up, I ask myself: “Is it fear, is I just excited about the possibilities?” Recognition of this difference might help in the approach of challenges with a sense of curiosity, not hesitation.
The key is to separate these emotions. Realizing that what you feel is more about emotions and passions than fear might help explain your mind and lead to higher decisions.
The more you train to discover fear in comparison with excitement, the higher you recognize development opportunities.
Bake up in fear – it’s your secret weapon
The most vital thing is that fear will all the time be there.
This is a regular companion. It will proceed to seem in your life and in work. If you deal with it, it makes a difference.
The goal is not to eliminate fear – it is to learn to administer it. Do you allow you to manage you? Or perhaps you use it to drive and manage your corporation?
Embrace it. Use it as fuel to push you forward. Don’t let this fear stop you – bend over, take motion and move.
You are developing as you win and how you turn out to be an entrepreneur you were to be.