I’d wanted to be self-employed for as long as I can remember, but I only actually took the leap two years ago. So, why did it take me so long?
It seemed too big
I had no idea how to get there
I was overwhelmed with ideas
My inner voice was telling me “this isn’t for you”
I was terrified of failing
I was terrified that I would succeed!
And those feelings stopped me completely in my tracks.
Thankfully, I managed to overcome them. I quit my job and started my new career as a self-employed Career Coach. I have never been happier or more fulfilled and I want to share three practical tips with you so you can do the same.
1. Do something – Anything. Just start. Have a list of actions to you need to take and pick the smallest, easiest task and just do it. You’ll be surprised how great you feel and how much your momentum will pick up speed. And remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect. It probably won’t be the first time. And that’s ok – you can change and tweak things. But you can’t change and tweak nothing!
2. Notice what you’re scared of – It was only after speaking to my coach at the time that I realised the thing I was actually scared of was success. How weird is that?! I thought my phone would be ringing off the hook, that this would consume me and take me away from spending time with my daughter, and that I wouldn’t be able to keep up. What I did was start to get these fears out of my head by talking to people and putting boundaries in place so that I was in control of what success looked like for me.
3. Ignore the voice – It’s a quiet little voice in your head, but it’s constant. “You can’t do this, it’s not for people like you, what will people say?” Question why you’re telling yourself these things. Why do you believe the voice? What evidence do you have that it’s true? For me, I was never a sporty person. But since becoming a Mum, I’ve been more concerned with health and fitness. So, I started to run. Short and slow to start with. And building up to longer, faster runs. I love it now. I taught myself that this IS possible. This IS for me. I moved myself out of this feeling and ignored the voice.
“Everything you want is on the other side of fear.”
I never thought I was a person who would happily do a Facebook Live. Public speaking used to terrify me. It was a real problem. Sweaty palms and racing heart. But one of the first Facebook Lives I did after starting my own business was on this very subject! You can watch it here.
I’d love for you to just try these three things to help you overcome the fear of failure.
Don’t put off becoming the person you want to be, and the things that will make you happy.
If I can do this, then so can you.
And if you need a little help to kick you off, just as I did when I first decided to become self-employed, get in touch and we can chat about more ways to beat your fears.
Once last thing, if fear of failure is a problem for someone else you know, please share this with them. Thanks!