What is the greatest impediment to a more fulfilling personal life and a more successful professional life? Is it the government, competitors, customers, suppliers, employees, or family members? No, these are merely excuses, not true causes or barriers. Unfortunately, the greatest stumbling block to an ideal business and life is YOU. YOU are responsible. More specifically, it’s your limiting beliefs and fears that are the culprits!
For this Growth Coach blog, we will limit our focus to FEARS. Fears absolutely hold business owners and entrepreneurs back from a better business and life. Do they for you?
At The Growth Coach, we refer to these fears as FUDs...fears, uncertainties, and doubts. As business owners, we all are susceptible to the FUDs. It's not a question about having them or not. It's what we do with the FUDs that dictates our level of success and happiness. Having the right mindset and strategies to combat the FUDs allows us to move forward to a better business and life. Our certified business coaches are experts at helping small business clients to identify, acknowledge, and then overcome the FUDs. After all, it's these bigger-than-life mental demons that hold us back from bigger and better things. Got the FUDs?
Be honest. Of course you do! We provide business coaching to several thousand clients each year and every one of them battles the FUDs every now and then. At the Growth Coach, when we first work with a client, we observe that too many important decisions in business and life are based purely out of fear...usually unrealistic fear. Small business owners think about doing something, becoming something, or obtaining something but fear prevents them from moving forward.
Let’s prove the point with you. Who would you be, what would you have, and what would you do if you knew with absolute certainty that you could not fail? Let go and truly dream without fears, uncertainties and doubts. What would you be, have or do? Also, with this same confidence level, what would you like your business to look like? What changes would you make to your business if you knew with absolute certainty that they would work? Can't you see the significant gap between where you are and where you truly want to be?
Your answers to those business coaching questions, with no fear involved, reveal your heart’s true desires...the ideal business and life you truly want. What's holding you back from these desired outcomes right now? Odds are it's your FUDs...fears, uncertainties and doubts. The unrealistic fear of failure or what other people might think or say is unfortunately preventing you from achieving the ideal life and business you want for yourself and your family. FUDs are like brakes on your dreams.
To control your mental demons (FUDs), try a simple, three-step, business coaching process -- worst case, likely case, and best case scenarios -- anytime you are confronting a big decision or action step and the FUDs start creeping in. First, ask yourself what is the WORST CASE that can happen if my fears come true? Fully acknowledge and accept that you could handle this worst-case scenario IF forced to...this will give you mental fortitude and confidence. You have successfully confronted the worst-case scenario and know with certainty that you could live through that situation. Second, ask what is MOST LIKELY to happen if the fear materializes. Odds are this answer is more realistic and much less threatening. Third, ask yourself what could be the BEST CASE outcome if you move forward in spite of your fear. Look at all three answers and blend them together into one composite answer.
With this simple 3-step process, instead of always being paralyzed by the worst-case scenario only, you now have other more realistic and optimistic perspectives to give you confidence to at least take that important first step. You now have a more balanced and proper perspective in which to operate. Your mental demons are greatly reduced in size, fierceness, and intensity. Moving forward is now much more likely. And then, nothing destroys the FUDs like ACTION. Action is the great slayer of mental demons.
Best of success battling your fears, uncertainties and doubts (FUDs) to get what you truly want from your business and life.
Daniel M. Murphy
President, Founder & Business Coach
The Growth Coach
Business Coaching Franchise System
Certified Business Coaches throughout North America