Courage Over Comfort: Why Embracing Fear Is Crucial for Unstoppable Growth

 By Tricia Scott. 

It's a fact that people in business don't want to talk publicly about being scared. Instead, they usually want to talk about success and confidence and 'look at all the people queuing down the street to buy my stuff.'  

Unsurprisingly, I'm not one to shy away from a challenge, and this really needs to be talked about, so buckle up because we're going there, like, right now.

Running a business can be downright bloody terrifying. Anyone who's stepped away from a regular salary and into self-employment will testify that it's not for the faint-hearted. Fear plays a major part in business, and for very good reason. 

It's actually really quite helpful. 

Generally, fear keeps us safe. Historically, fear kept us running from wild animals and away from all sorts of danger, thus preserving the human race -nice job! However, the story isn't the same when it comes to business. 

In business, fear gets personal, the lines blur, and we don't quite know what to do with it. We're used to fear keeping us safe, but in this case, it could be keeping us stuck. This is where we need to learn the difference between safe and safe. 

Safe on a primal level is listening to your gut and rooting yourself in what's right for you. If it feels wrong, then you should question it. What is that particular feeling of fear telling you? Is someone giving you that horrible sinking feeling in your gut? Do you feel prickly all over when you consider a particular direction? Listen up; your body is asking you to question it.  

Good job! 

On the other hand, safe is when your brain is just enjoying you ticking along. It's used to your comfort zone, and anything outside feels like peeling a wax strip off slowly - stuck, prolonged, and unnecessary. So what do we do? 

We can stop waxing altogether and stay small and safe (and probably a degree or two warmer, amiright?), or we can rip it off off quickly and enjoy the smoothness of the other side. 

The trick I've learned is to recognise when we switch from fear serving us in all the good ways to fear preserving our imaginary limitations. When I look back over my journey, I can clearly see that the things that scared me most in my work were almost always the most critical to my business growth. Go figure! 

You might have noticed something similar yourself, such as: 

• Announcing a change in career direction
• Directing people to your new website 
• Publishing your work
• Starting a live video session
• Creating and publicising a video (1000000 takes, anyone?)
• Speaking from the stage
• Creating and executing a Webinar
• Face-to-face networking  

All of the above are fear-inducing (occasionally all-out paralysing) but tend to be crucial to growth if you can overcome them. This is where we have to start looking at this type of fear factor for what it really is: a message that we're on the verge of something big and potentially game-changing. Then, it's about finding the courage to leap. Often, It's not the fear of the thing itself (whatever it might be) that scares us; it's symptomatic of our underlying fears of failure and, as importantly, success. 

Fear of success!? 

I know, outrageous, right?  

Not so; bear with me here. I know it sounds ridiculous; we're all striving for successful endeavours, aren't we? But what if that networking event or speaking gig might mean meeting someone who can put you in front of a much bigger audience? What if everyone loves it so much that you gain a ton of fans, fall short of expectations, and fail to deliver? What if we become wildly successful, and our friends stop wanting to hang around with us, or our families fail to understand, and it all implodes like a stiletto-punctured bouncy castle? 

Oh crap! 

This is called hitting our upper limit. It's a very real thing; because of it, we can subconsciously sabotage ourselves in a spectacular fashion. 

Not cool. 

The good news is that now you know about it, we can start to unpick the seams apart and look honestly at the fear itself. To understand it is half the battle. 

So what are you procrastinating over? What do you know you should be doing to move forward but aren't for any one of a hundred reasons in your head? Grab a pen and get them on paper. 

What does it look like? Are there any surprises? Why write it down? 

Putting it onto paper and actually seeing it lessens its hold on us. When we can begin to see more clearly what's going on, our brains can make sense of it and put it into perspective. What's happening on your list? Go back and look at it again, what type of fear is at the root of each one? Fear of failure? Fear of success? Outright perfectionism? (my personal speciality).

Start by choosing one or two where you can rip the wax strip off and get work done. Short-term pain for longer-term results. If some of them feel more sticky, where can you ask for help? Have you tried 'The Community'? Our members and editors have a vast amount of varied experience and expertise, so get used to asking for help when you need it. 

Can you reach out to a coach during the process for some short-term hand-holding? Do you need more specific training before you can leap confidently? Look for the resources you need to build the necessary skills to get on your way, but whatever you do, do something.

I believe in you (always).

👉🏼If you want to journey with me through 2024, I email our Hello CEO mailing list every Monday. To join, head to The Homepage and sign up!

Tricia Scott is a passionate startup business mentor and the Founder and Editor of The Female CEO - Create Evolve Overcome, a platform and digital magazine holding the space to showcase female entrepreneurs from all over the world. 

The Female CEO is gaining global recognition daily and Tricia is able to bring her own level of expertise as a start-up mentor and multi-company director to her very exclusive table along with her team of brilliant Guest Editors and Contributors. You'll usually find her with her MacBook in one hand and a coffee or a glass of something fizzy in the other. Reach out anytime!