Fear is the “go-to” reason we use when you stop yourself from moving forward. Your mind becomes frozen and you procrastinate.
What’s the real reason behind fear? It can be many things, but there is one variable that goes unnoticed behind the “fear” facade – judgment.
What Are You Afraid Of?
The basic definition of fear is being afraid to do something. Have you ever thought of why you are scared to follow through with an idea?
When you begin working on your idea, you know there will be obstacles, mistakes and failures to overcome. It’s inevitable – it’s going to happen.
If you know this, why do you continue to run away from it? You want to be successful, but you don’t want to experience the embarrassment and setbacks that comes with it. It’s too much to take, so you just ignore it and stay average.
There’s no doubt that it can be debilitating at times, but how else will you get there? It’s not going to happen by wishing and hoping – that alone, won’t do it. At some point, you must get past the fear of being judged and move on.
Judgment Is An Illusion
“What will my friends think? What if I look stupid? What if it doesn’t work and everyone sees? What if I have to start over in front of everybody?”
Judgment from others is the basis of fear. No one likes to look like they don’t know what they’re doing – we all want to look like the genius! We want the adoring fans, the easy journey and the perfect life.
Before you can get to all of that, you have to get over your fear of being judged, because that’s simply what it takes. Think about your favorite person – do you think they didn’t go through embarrassment or hardships to get to where they are? You don’t think they sacrificed their feelings at some point to keep going?
Judgment will definitely put a stop to whatever you’re attempting to do, all because you’re more concerned about how you’ll look in front of others – instead, think about what you can create and contribute to the world.
Get Over It
One way to get over the fear of judgment is to look at the bigger picture. Unless your life is in danger, what you “fear” probably shouldn’t stress you out. Sometimes, we pick and choose what we react to and how we react – in the grand scheme of things, most things we react to really don’t even matter.
Another way to overcome judgment is by keeping your goals to yourself. Don’t give your time and energy to other people’s opinions of what you do. Continue to immerse yourself in your work and make your progress quietly.
You can also train your mind to acknowledge that everyone’s comments about your work isn’t about you, it’s really about them. This is the truth – people often project their self-doubt upon you. If they aren’t successful, you can’t be successful – if they didn’t go to college, you can’t go to college – if their marriage ended in divorce, yours will end in divorce.
The bottom line is you must see past those opinions. Most people are going to be jealous of what you do anyway, so why make it convenient for them by taking on their insecurities as your own?
Success Awaits You
If you can get past the fact that you will be judged and not allow it to hurt your feelings and put a stop to your journey, success awaits you.
Fear comes in many forms and you must learn how to handle it, no matter how it shows up. The main objective is to keep your focus and keep moving forward. Those setbacks, obstacles and failures only improve your strategy.
So many people have given up on their goals, just because of what someone else has said. Words have power, but only if you let them. Be mindful of what you say to others, as well as how you interpret what they say to you.
Your success does not depend on other people’s words. Instead of judging, be encouraging and supportive. Sometimes, all you need is a positive word to help you take, what seems to be, that next scary step.