Harnessing The Positive Side of Fear is Critical for Success
Most of the time we don’t look at fear as a positive emotion. More often than not, when you’re afraid it’s due to your fight or flight instincts. That type of stress is often due to real danger that isn’t positive. Let’s set this type of fear aside for the purposes of this short post and instead focus on the positive side of fear.
The positive side of fear is the fear that serves as an early warning signal. The type of fear you have before an important test. The fear you have before the state or national finals of a sporting competition. The fear you have when interviewing or even just applying for your dream job. Or the fear you have before you give a presentation or pitch that could change your life.
Harnessing The Positive Side of Fear as a Source of Power
This positive side of fear is a signal that something really matters to you. This fear is a signal that you care. You must harness this fear as a source of power.
We do many things in our lives that don’t matter. Each day, most of the time we sleep walk through our routines. However, something changes when we get that nervous bug in our belly. There’s something special about to happen when that bit of anxiety causes our heart to race.
Those are the moments that create memories. Moments that shape our lives. Moments that matter. This is when fear helps us. This fear helps remind us to give that extra effort. This fear pushes us to work harder, to stay up later, and to push our limits to places we thought we could never go.
Recognizing the positive side of fear is critical for success. Without this early warning system, you’re at a disadvantage. If you don’t recognize this type of fear as a positive force, you risk losing power instead of gaining it. In those crucial moments of our lives that matter, learning how to harness fear as a source of power might just be the difference between success and failure.