Building A Private Practice Doesn’t Have To Include FEAR
We all have fears and doubts that stop us in our tracks and prevent us from creating our dreams. We often have fears about money, our marriages, our children, our job and whether we are good enough. We have other fears too like the fear of public speaking, fear of snakes, fear of death and fear of building our private practices. We let fear create a paralysis that leads to inaction. We all have experienced it, and we lose sleep over our decisions. We worry that we will fail, that we are not as good as we think we are or we have nothing of value to offer. Fear becomes to take on a life of its own. Dictionary.com describes Fear as
“a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or
imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.”
Here are 4 keys to vanquish Fear
1. Fear is just an emotion
Since fear is just a feeling, however, a distressing one at that, it means it will go away if we do not put too much emphasis on the emotion. Think about it as if it’s just thought that floats into your mind then out. Don’t hang on to it or give it power. Know that it will pass and usually without any negative consequences. Every person on the planet has had some fear at sometimes. Think back to those days when you walked through it. Think about the first job, going to graduate school, first internship, or even first client. We all have been a bit fearful at first if we are honest. Even Tom Petty sang about it “Most things I worry about never happen anyway.”
2. Fear is a biological response
Fear is the response that our body produces when we are stressed, or there is something in our environment that is unsafe. After you carefully make sure there is not anything physically making you unsafe, say a train or approaching attacker, then start by taking in deep breaths, taking in 4 big deep breaths and slowly releasing the air. We tend to hold our breath, or we tend to breathe very shallowly when we are frightened. This raises our heart rate, and we feel like we are losing control. Know that at times when you are starting a business you will need to stop and take a breath, stand up walk around and regroup.
3. Find your tribe
Having people around you that are encouraging and help is a must. We all need cheerleaders in our corner. At times, we all have experienced the overwhelming that fear throws on us it feels like a wet blanket. We all need the encouragement of our friend when we need to be talked off that ledge. Find local therapists (network), look to professional organizations or online therapist groups that you can ask questions to and build up relationships.
4. Trust that reward is greater than the fear
When we give into fear, we lose the ability to earn the reward for our hard work. Building a business has many rewards such as making your own schedule, being your own boss, heck even picking our office décor is fun. When we turn ourselves over to the fear, we lose the ability to benefit from our work and so do our clients. You have had numerous successes throughout your life, why would you not continue when you are building a business? Business skills sets can be learned like every other skill you have ever conquered. Watch your self-talk; you got this.
To be clear you will have fears and self-doubts, some days will be better than others. Like any other skill you have learned the more we practice, the better become. Thus, the more we practice walking through fear, the better we become at it. Pick a small fear and work on it, then you can tackle larger ones. Use these 4 keys to help you plan your attack on fear and the better you plan, the easier it will be to banish that fear.
If fear continues to trouble you, please contact me and let’s work together to slay the fears.