4 Tips for Fear Management in Your Personal Brand
Stop fear from standing in the way of you and your personal brand potential. Try this instead.
Often the one thing that stands between your comfort zone and your potential is fear. The fear of taking a risk can hold you back from ever making a move toward your ambitions. But, what if you could learn to manage fear when it comes to your personal brand goals?
In 2024, I’m doing two things just a few years ago I never imagined I’d ever do. I’ve started a YouTube channel and podcast.
In this week’s blog, I’m sharing tips on how I learned to overcome the fear:
1. Remind yourself, you’re likely not in real danger
Robert Kiyosaki in his book Rich Dad Poor Dad highlights that psychologists believe that the fear of public speaking is caused by the fear of ostracism. A fear of standing out, of criticism, of ridicule and of being an outcast. All things that historically in tribal times would have put your life at risk.
Kiyosaki believes this fear is what prevents people from seeking new ways to solve their problems. We conform, not question and accept common opinions and trends. But, the easier path despite its short-term gain, can have more long-term pain. Taking the path less travelled takes bravery in the face of fear.
As a human, your survival mechanism has you evolutionarily hardwired for fear. Through time, feeling fear is what kept your ancestors alive. But, these days, it’s a lot less likely you’re being chased by a saber-toothed tiger. And yet, when it comes to things like public speaking (or insert your fear here), your body and mind react similarly. So, the next time your body and mind are likely over-reacting, remind yourself you're not in any real danger.
Fear keeps you in your comfort zone. It stands between you and your potential.
2. Put the fear in perspective
What is it you’re worried about? Now, put it in perspective. How much does it really matter? There’ll come a day when something in your world is rocked to its core (perhaps it already has been).
Remember, the real fears in life. They’re likely not going to have anything to do with trying new things or your personal brand. Put the small worries into perspective of the real things you have to fear in life.
3. Fear setting
In the book, The 4-Hour Work Week, Tim Ferriss talks about facing your fears proactively.
If there’s something you want to do, but are nervous about making the jump, Ferriss proposes a process to face the fears holding you back front-on. This includes:
Defining your worst nightmare of what could go wrong.
What steps could you take to repair the damage?
What are the outcomes or benefits, both temporary and permanent, of the more probable scenarios?
If you lost your job, what would you do to get things under financial control?
What are you putting off out of fear?
What is it costing you to postpone?
What are you waiting for?
My simplified version of this in the last couple of years has been to focus on two things:
Set a goal every year that scares me and makes me uncomfortable.
Do something every day, no matter how tiny, that makes me uncomfortable.
4. Enter boldly
In Robert Green’s, 48 Laws of Power, Law 28 states:
Enter Action with Boldness.
“Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honours the timid.”
I interpret some of this as being said tongue-in-cheek and personally admire humility. But, it still makes an interesting point. Sometimes fortune does favour the brave. I’ve learned there’s something in making a bold entrance - if for no one but yourself. To signal to the universe and your people that you’re doing something new and you’re serious about it. There’s a place for meek, but new beginnings may not be it. Don’t be so subtle in your entry that even you forget its significance. Enter boldly to set momentum in motion.
As Franklin D. Roosevelt famously said:
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.”
So, the next time you feel fear holding you back, remind yourself that you’re likely more safe than you realise. Face the fear of what is easy. Keep intentionally pushing past your comfort zone. Be proud of yourself for doing something different, something that means you’re growing. And, enter boldly to signal to the universe (and yourself) that you’re serious.
