What are you afraid of?
I recently spent two weeks in the woods almost entirely alone. My dog Willow was there but for the most part, I was deep in the woods, by myself, getting real with my fears.
It was an intentional and transformational journey into the deep dark woods of my fear and I came out of it better both personally and professionally. Here is what I learned:
Helpful and hurtful
When fear is real, it can be helpful. When being chased by a bear or more likely when there is strong whiff of a skunk at dusk while walking your dog, fear causes the adrenaline to kick in and you get the heck out of there.
Most often, our fear-based thinking is hurtful, causing us to unnecessarily worry and stress about a situation either out of our control or completely harmless. For instances, the spider on the deck right next to me. Sure she is hairy and scary looking at first, but when I set my fear aside I see she is not there to hurt me but rather is simply busy creating a beautiful web that will sustain her.
Difference between fear and risk
Bottom line – risks need to be managed on your project and in your life, it is practical and action oriented, where as fear is irrational and holds us back. Fear is most often unproductive.
For example a fear-based thought looks like this – OH MY GOD, I smell skunk. I better run back to the cabin and hunker down for the night.
Managing risk looks like this – OH MY GOD, I smell skunk, I am going to kayak instead.
The situation is the same. The hit of adrenaline is real, it’s the what you do next that’s determines whether you are living this moment in fear or simply managing a risk. Hiding in the cabin, that is obviously irrational fear. Heading to the water where there are no skunks, well, that’s just smart risk management.
Fears are crushable
Finally and most importantly I learned my irrational fears can be crushed. Once I got real clear on what they were and why they were there, essentially bringing them into the light, they started losing their power. Fear dissolves in the light of your awareness making the fearful person of your past unrecognizable.
So what are you afraid? Be Curious. Be Honest. In doing so you will start bringing those fears into the light, transforming you to the fearless person you were meant to be.
Mindset matters
Your mindset matters in how you live your life and how you lead your projects. If you could use a little empowerment with your project leadership, I am here to help.