When I decided to write a blog, I was filled with excitement and motivation to write every day. I envisioned creating interesting content that others would benefit from and all would be right with the world. Well, it was until I actually had to do the work and create the blog.

I had no idea what I was doing to create a blog. I had a free blog on WordPress.org and wrote one post years ago. To get help now with a paid blog, I had been watching YouTube videos on how others made tons of money with their blogs and I wanted to do that, too.

To push me to do it, I elected to pay for three years of hosting service and bought a domain for a year. I thought if there is money on the line, I will be sure to get up early every day and get to it. Wrong!  Weeks and months went by and I, again, wrote one blog post.

I was paralyzed by fear.

So how did I overcome it? Here are three ways I found helpful to overcome any fear.

1) Visualize Doing the Thing You Are Afraid Of

Close your eyes or do it before you fall asleep at night and see yourself doing what you are afraid of. If it’s taking a driver’s test to get your license, just see yourself acing every question and driving the course like a seasoned driver, doing a great job parallel parking, etc. Do this every night and several times a day.  Really see yourself doing whatever it is that you are afraid of doing.

For me, it was doing this blog. I was absolutely terrified of being judged and criticized by others and just procrastinated until I could no longer procrastinate. What I also did was SEE myself in my mind doing the blog. I visualized myself writing the blog posts, coming up with interesting ideas, and posting it online – LIVE!  At first, it was scary just doing it in my head, but then I started to enjoy fantasizing about it and then I actually wanted to do the real thing, which I’m doing right now!  So, I can tell you honestly this works! 😊

2) Write Out, What Is the Worst That Could Happen If You Try?

You’d be surprised how your thoughts can get straightened out when you write them down. Simply thinking about what you want isn’t enough.

What I learned from Brian Tracy, a self-development author,

and public speaker, is to write out the answer to the question, what’s the absolute worst that could happen if you try? My answer shocked me.  For me, the worst that could happen was that people would criticize what I’d written. Then I took it a step further and answered the next question I had in my mind, why does this matter if I do this or not?

I found that due to my past and upbringing, I had some issues to work out with self-esteem, self-confidence, and belief in myself. Those three areas are big deals when it comes to facing your fears and doing the thing that scares you.  So how did I answer the question, why does this matter?

I knew I wouldn’t be happy without achieving what I wanted, no matter what my life was like in the past. What mattered was following my heart to make me happy.  And when you get to that point in your mind, there is nothing left to do but take the plunge and do what you fear.

3) Do the Thing That You Fear

You know the phrase from Nike, “Just Do It!” It’s meant to motivate you into doing some sort of action, no matter how small. Doing the action is the most important step because this helps you to overcome your fears and step outside of your comfort zone to achieve things you thought were not possible.

So how do we just do the thing and get over our fear? Well, I have found that starting small with baby steps is the best way to go. I’ve tried jumping into something full force and then fear made me pull back and stop. Sometimes I did it without even knowing I did it. I procrastinated and avoided doing what would get me closer to my goals. Until I realized that I had to start small, I didn’t do any action steps.

I also used affirmations to kick-start the self-confidence in me.  This was super important. You have to believe in yourself first before anyone else is going to believe in you, and affirmations do help change the subconscious messaging you learned when you were too small to know if the words were true or false.

Affirmations:

I believe I am entitled to earn a living doing what I love

I deserve to achieve my goals

I am full of gratitude for my wonderful life

I am blessed

I love and accept myself unconditionally

The biggest challenge in our lives is getting out of our heads and just doing the things that we love.  Our minds can stop us from doing the things that bring us happiness and joy. These simple three steps will help overcome that initial fear and get you moving towards a greater sense of purpose and peace of mind. And every small step gets you closer to you achieving the big goals and dreams!

What helps you overcome your fears?