How to deal with the paralyzing fear of starting a new business

What do you do when nothing is going your way if you try to play it safe but at the same time you are getting hints that your wildest dreams are becoming more and more achievable? Well if you are me, you freeze in total paralysis.

There are things happening in my world and in my life that are making it very difficult for me to live a regular old life. Regular old meaning safe, predictable, the 9-5 kind of life. Instead, I’m having to make my own schedule, live it and consciously enjoy the things I choose to do. This is very bizarre for a person who has had her life and daily schedule decided for her since birth. Think about it – being a kid and being on your parents’ schedule, going to school, then university and then work. Apart from a few vacations, I really never had to plan my days the way that I have to now. Faced with this completely new challenge, I am just freezing, I’m feeling paralyzed.

The best way to take away the stronghold that fear has on us is by outing it. So I outed my paralyzing fears on a great community Facebook group I belong to, which is Marie Forleo’s B-school and this is what my friend Sonya told me. It’s so good that I’m literally copy/pasting her comment here.

Congrats on taking the first step by being honest with yourself and recognising your fears. We’ve all been at the same place at some point in time. It’s great to take a step back and give yourself permission to be ok with where you’re at right now and also know that you are exactly where you need to be. Ask yourself – what can I learn from this, what do I need to know? Fear is showing up to keep you safe and that’s a good thing. Give it a little wink back and say .. I see you, thanks for showing up to keep me safe, but I’m ready to take the next step and I’ve totally got this. Spend some time breaking your business goals down into smaller, manageable tasks that don’t seem so overwhelming and scary and then start taking small steps each day – the quickest way out of fear is always action. Hope this helps! xx

Gold! Right? I thought so. What I learnt from Sonya is this. 1) Acknowledge the fear, and instantly take away its power.  2) Break it down into bitesize chunks. 3) Take one small step each day. Thank you Sonya. If you love what Sonya’s got to say, check out her new program: http://sonyalovell.com/clarity.