Close Close
Popular Financial Topics Discover relevant content from across the suite of ALM legal publications From the Industry More content from ThinkAdvisor and select sponsors Investment Advisor Issue Gallery Read digital editions of Investment Advisor Magazine Tax Facts Get clear, current, and reliable answers to pressing tax questions
Luminaries Awards
ThinkAdvisor

Life Health > Running Your Business

Don’t Let Fear Get in Your Way of Your Goals

X
Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

Yes—and it comes from a source that you usually think of as your ally: your mind, especially your subconscious mind.

When you have fears or concerns about what you believe it will take to achieve a goal or about what will happen after you achieve that goal, you may subconsciously sabotage yourself to avoid success.

Take Laura, for example. Laura started writing a book with a specific goal for completing it but never seemed to get there. When she considered what she thought would happen after the book was completed, she quickly realized that she had many fears, including the fear that the book would be criticized or that it would raise her visibility and make her a target of attention or that success might pull her away from her family.

When you have underlying thoughts like this, it’s no surprise that you stop pursuing or at least slow down in taking action toward your goals.

To find out if you have any “goal stoppers,” ask yourself: “What’s the worst that could happen if I accomplish this goal?” and “What will it cost me to achieve this goal?”

Make a complete list of your concerns about taking action to accomplish your goal and of what might happen if you accomplish it. Take a moment to actually write them down. Some of your concerns may seem a bit far-fetched—even silly—when you put them down on paper, but some will feel very real.

The truth is, however, that those events you fear may or may not come to pass. We often scare ourselves by imagining the negative outcomes of our actions. If you’re stopped from moving toward your goal by fear, you will never know what you could have accomplished. In order to move ahead powerfully, you’ll need to remove those fears.

There are techniques to help you overcome your self-limiting fears. Try them—it’s worth the effort.

Sign up for The Lead and get a new tip in your inbox every day! More tips:

Jack Canfield, America’s success coach, is the founder and co-creator of the billion-dollar book brand “Chicken Soup for the Soul” and a leading authority on peak performance. If you’re ready to jump start your life, make more money and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your free success tips from Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com.


NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.