…and how to avoid it
High-performance is free-flowing, loose, creative, and soaring. Fear tightens us up. Fear tells us not to take any risks. Fear tells us to stay on the ground where the terrain is familiar. Playing while afraid usually hurts our performance. Ironically, when we are afraid is often when we need our best work to shine.
It is rational to be afraid. Life has consequences and things don’t always go well. The more we have, the more we have to lose. So, how do we continue to play loose when we are scared? How do we play to win when the going gets tough?
Many things we cannot control, but we can always control ourselves. My first step is always awareness. Notice when fear sets in. Understand what this feels like for you. For me, it is a beating heart, spiraling negative thoughts, and worst-case outcomes. The second step is to name the feeling as fear. This simple action allows me to separate the emotional, feeling reaction from the logical fear. Separating it into two parts allows us to objectively analyze the data. Often when I can do this, I realize nothing has changed with the underlying situation. Either I have changed or some other source has changed my perspective. Once I have gotten to this point, is easier to reset my mindset and let the worry go.
But sometimes, there are real problems to worry about. Maybe your job is at risk, you are not performing the way you would like to be, or your career is stuck. Switching to a place of courage instead of a place of fear can get you moving forward. Nothing can protect us from every negative outcome, that is the reality. But people who work with courage are always an asset. Even when they face setbacks, their resilience carries them forward.
Personal courage won’t always solve a toxic situation. If you have walked back your fear, moved forward with courage, and things still don’t improve; it is likely time to change your environment.
Just like mindfulness is not for the times of calm, but for the times of chaos. Open creativity shines the most in times of fear if we dare to let loose when we have so much to lose.