10th November, 2022
“The key to success is for you to make a habit throughout your life of doing the things you fear.” ~Vincent Van Gogh
The second major reason for falling into the ‘Mediocrity creep’ is we give in to our fear.
Fear is like skin — we all have it. It’s a universal emotion that, in itself, is not bad.
A little bit of fear is normal. In fact, fear helps you instinctively protect yourself from harm. Your fear might help you to recognize when you’re about to do something dangerous, and it could help you to make a safer choice.
But, you might find yourself fearful of things that aren’t actually dangerous, like public speaking.
Fear is not the problem. It’s the bowing to fear, letting it control your choices, that puts holes in your boat and sinks you.
Fear keeps you from taking chances.
Fear whispers in your ear, trying to discourage any boldness in your life.
Fear unchecked makes you weak. It snuffs out the fire that burns inside of you — the fire of unmet potential.
“Don’t do it!” cries fear. “It’ll hurt! You’ll lose! Think of the pain!”
We’re all programmed to seek pleasure and avoid pain. But that programming is not as useful in today’s society as it was for our ancestors.
Sure, fear is trying to help you, but it’s not always right. It’s good to give in to fear and run when you see a tsunami coming your way. It’s not good to give in to fear and make an excuse when presented with a unique opportunity.
To meet that special someone and tell them how you feel . . .
To stand on that podium and face that audience . . .
To start that promising venture that others say will fail . . .
To take that idea and make it into an innovative product . . .
Fear wants to keep you safe and secure, but success is beyond what’s safe, beyond your comfort zone.
Fear makes you less than you can be, but only if you let it. Otherwise, fear is merely another emotion in your human tapestry — one that you can use to your advantage if you learn to conquer it.
“The fears we don’t face become our limits.” ~Robin Sharma
Remove fear by taking control, by facing it, because only by acknowledging your fear and facing it head on can you put it behind you. Otherwise, for each time you let that fear stop you, that fear will grow taller and taller until it becomes a wall.
The biggest walls in your life will be the risks you avoided the most. At the heart of risk-avoidance is fear.
As Robin Sharma said, here’s the truth about risk:
“The real risk lies in riskless living.” ~The Greatness Guide
The Bottom line is, it’s how you handle fear that matters. It’s how you handle difficulty and risk. It’s how you handle failure. It’s not what happens that counts. It all comes down to what you do about it.
So be deliberate in your dealings with fear. Recognize it when you hear its whisper in your ear, its prickle down your spine, its echo in your thoughts.
Overcome your fear to avoid the ‘Mediocrity Creep’ & stay blessed forever .