Guest post by Luann Allen (you can learn more about Luann at the end of this post)
Have you ever really wanted to do something but talked yourself out of it? Have you ever procrastinated long enough that it was too late to do it?
I see this a lot in my practice. I’ve coached many business people who tell me that they don’t want to try something new because they are afraid of failure. I can see that they are really agonizing over this and that they know it is holding both them and their business back.
So I ask them the following questions:
- Have you done all of your research and do you know that it should work?
- How many times have you actually tried something and failed?
- What happened as a result of that failure?
In most cases, they agree that they have succeeded more than failed, and that when they have failed, it was not generally life changing (with one or two exceptions). In fact, even when it WAS life changing, it resulted in something better.
To me that means that they really aren’t afraid of failure. If they aren’t afraid of failure, then what is it that they could be afraid of? What is holding them back from doing something that they know could open up new worlds for them?
I believe that it can only be fear of success. Success sometimes means new problems. In business it can mean new tax implications if you make more money, or having to expand and hire more people. It may mean more hours to work or loss of sleep to problem solve.
But in many cases, it is because we believe that the universe has told us we are allowed to have a certain amount of success. We all have a mental idea of how much that is for each of us. And we don’t believe we can exceed that.
In fact, we can. We just need to understand that the only one who can limit us is us. Our friends and family may try to limit us, but only if we let them. Our employees can try to limit us, because they don’t want to increase their work load, but we can handle that issue easily just by talking to them about how they will benefit from the change.
Handling fear of success can be made easier just by using a simple affirmation.
“I deserve unlimited success and give myself permission to create success.”
You must overcome the gremlins that hold you back. Positive feedback from yourself to yourself can do that. Say this once in the morning and once before bedtime. Then before you fall asleep, imagine that you’ve already accomplished this new task. See what you would see, feel what it would feel like, hear the positive sounds of voices telling you how much they like this new thing.
It’s really quite easy to change your future, just by changing your mind. Remember, YOU are in control.
About the Author
Luann Allen is known as the Wealth Instigator. She is a marketing and business coach who helps service professionals build their practice at higher rates and plan for their future by developing multiple streams of income. She can be reached at 866-987-DOIT (3648) or through her website at www.successfanatic.com.
Susan Gunelius
Susan Gunelius is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Women on Business. She is a 30-year veteran of the marketing field and has authored a dozen books about marketing, branding, and social media, including the highly popular Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing for Dummies, Blogging All-in-One for Dummies and Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps. Susan’s marketing-related content can be found on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, and more. Susan is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She has worked in corporate marketing roles and through client relationships with AT&T, HSBC, Citibank, Intuit, The New York Times, Cox Communications, and many more large and small companies around the world. Susan also speaks about marketing, branding and social media at events around the world and is frequently interviewed by television, online, radio, and print media organizations about these topics. She holds an MBA in Management and Strategy and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).
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