The other day, I received an email from out of the blue. Someone from another state found me through my website and was interested in possibly combining our businesses. Their business is quite different than mine, and I would have never thought to combine the two.
At first I couldn’t imagine how in the world we could possibly merge. When I Googled the combination of the two, it scared the bejabbers out of me! “Were they kidding me?” I thought, “I can’t do that! I’m too old and too wimpy for stuff like that! They need some young punk, who’s far braver than I!”
Then I caught myself. Who is this person who’s having such negative thoughts? That’s not me. So I reset myself. I started over. I remembered that every decision people make is out of either love or fear, and I was definitely in the mode of fear. My eyes were big, my heart was beating hard, and I got a general feeling of discomfort from tensing muscles.
As I reclaimed my power, I calmed down and asked myself, “If I weren’t afraid, would I do it?” That’s when logic was able to take over. I could ask myself real, appropriate questions like, “How would I go about it? What would I need to do? How much time would I need to prepare? Do I have that time? Am I willing to put in the effort?” And the most important question, “Do I want to?” The answer was, “Oh my gosh, that would be the coolest thing I’ve ever done!”
Did this make me overcome my fear? No! It still scares me, but I like to think of Mark Twain’s quote, “Courage is not the absence of fear. It is acting in spite of it.”
I wonder how many people dismiss great opportunities out of fear, staying in jobs that are unfulfilling. It’s common for people to talk themselves out of following their heart because something might go wrong, or they’re not good enough, strong enough, smart enough, etc., keeping them from reaching their full potential.
Some people even stay in bad situations because it’s somehow more comfortable than changing. Again, this is fear, and is unhealthy.
Be assured I am not promoting throwing caution to the wind. When making business or personal decisions, I believe it’s important to think things through, rationally. What I am suggesting, is to step out of the place of fear. Ask yourself the question I asked myself, “If I weren’t afraid, would I do it?” If your answer is yes, don’t stop with the questioning. Think it through, logically, to see if it makes sense. You may just surprise yourself by coming up with the ingenuity you need to accomplish something really great!
As for me, I have no idea what might progress with this potential business idea. All I know is, I have the courage to investigate it, and that’s a healthy place to be.
At first I couldn’t imagine how in the world we could possibly merge. When I Googled the combination of the two, it scared the bejabbers out of me! “Were they kidding me?” I thought, “I can’t do that! I’m too old and too wimpy for stuff like that! They need some young punk, who’s far braver than I!”
Then I caught myself. Who is this person who’s having such negative thoughts? That’s not me. So I reset myself. I started over. I remembered that every decision people make is out of either love or fear, and I was definitely in the mode of fear. My eyes were big, my heart was beating hard, and I got a general feeling of discomfort from tensing muscles.
As I reclaimed my power, I calmed down and asked myself, “If I weren’t afraid, would I do it?” That’s when logic was able to take over. I could ask myself real, appropriate questions like, “How would I go about it? What would I need to do? How much time would I need to prepare? Do I have that time? Am I willing to put in the effort?” And the most important question, “Do I want to?” The answer was, “Oh my gosh, that would be the coolest thing I’ve ever done!”
Did this make me overcome my fear? No! It still scares me, but I like to think of Mark Twain’s quote, “Courage is not the absence of fear. It is acting in spite of it.”
I wonder how many people dismiss great opportunities out of fear, staying in jobs that are unfulfilling. It’s common for people to talk themselves out of following their heart because something might go wrong, or they’re not good enough, strong enough, smart enough, etc., keeping them from reaching their full potential.
Some people even stay in bad situations because it’s somehow more comfortable than changing. Again, this is fear, and is unhealthy.
Be assured I am not promoting throwing caution to the wind. When making business or personal decisions, I believe it’s important to think things through, rationally. What I am suggesting, is to step out of the place of fear. Ask yourself the question I asked myself, “If I weren’t afraid, would I do it?” If your answer is yes, don’t stop with the questioning. Think it through, logically, to see if it makes sense. You may just surprise yourself by coming up with the ingenuity you need to accomplish something really great!
As for me, I have no idea what might progress with this potential business idea. All I know is, I have the courage to investigate it, and that’s a healthy place to be.
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