CRIPPLED BY FEAR?

FEAR CAN CRIPPLE YOU, BUT IT CAN NEVER EVER STOP YOU. When something new and challenging is introduced to me, I freeze. Every new endeavor brings about a crippling reaction, physically and mentally. I begin to think of all the things that could go wrong, I begin to imagine the impact my failure would have. What happens is that the crippling feeling creates anxiety, fear and an inability to think and process information well. What do I do when I begin to experience the crippling feeling?

I breathe, I take some time to think and process the not so insurmountable task(s) in front of me and create a plan that enables me to pace myself and take things one step at a time. I have reduced my thinking time to less than 72 hours; within a 72-hour time span, I can decide on the best path to take and the plan that makes the most sense where I am able to pace myself.

How I sometimes apply and test this principle is at work, when I have the idea of approaching a potential partner, I write down my ideas and create the pros and cons of the partnership, I take about 48-72 hours to process my pro and con list and if I am at peace that the pros outweigh the cons I take the next step, if not, I wait it out until something happens that enables me to explore the potential partnership.

Fear temporarily cripples, but it can never stop you. Understanding how you process information is a step in disabling the crippling fear. Nothing stops your plans unless you allow the crippling fear to linger on longer than it needs to and that may prove deadly to your vision and purpose.