We make hundreds and thousands of decisions every single day without breaking a sweat.
Local roads or freeway? Coffee or tea? Blog or don’t blog? Drinks at 10am or staying employed?
Our brains become so good at making decisions that most days it doesn’t even register on a conscious level. When we’re looking down the barrel of tough life choices, most folks will tell you to follow your heart.
Some folks call this “going with your gut” or some sort of “gut feeling.” It’s the decision you would make if there were no consequences or if there were no right or wrong choices. We do it all the time with simple tasks, but somehow freeze up with tougher choices.
Big Mac or Whopper? No brainer!
Keep my safe and secure day job where I’m overworked and underpaid, or strike out on my own as an entrepreneur? Uhhh… I don’t know!
The choices are the same, one or the other, but the biggest reason we put off what we really want… is fear.
Fear of the unknown. Fear of being wrong. Fear of being not good enough. Fear of not making enough money two weeks later and having to give up some of our current comforts. Fear of having to eat shit if the company folds up. Fear of asking for a promotion. Fear of asking for more money. Fear of leaving an abusive situation.
You want a new job, but hold off on applying anywhere else because what if that job turns out to be worse than the one you currently have. You want more money, but what if the boss says no or worse… fires you for asking.
Most of the time, what do we do? We sit in silence, undecided. Not realizing that indecision is a decision in itself. We just made the decision to do nothing.
You choose to stay employed at a company that will never pay you what you’re worth or even consider you for a management position. You choose to keep your business idea locked up inside your mind because what if you fail. You choose not to go to the gym because people may laugh at you.
And all of these choices and decisions are motivated by fear.
It’s the ultimate motivator for most of us. So let’s embrace it.
Let’s fear failure to the point that it becomes our driving motivator. Let’s push ourselves to the point that fear of staying down becomes our main reason for standing up. Use fear to motivate yourself to go out and get what you’re worth in dollars or in happiness.
But it’s not easy.
You have to fear starving more than you fear asking a client for money. You have to fear not being successful more than you fear rejection. You have to fear an unfulfilled life more than you fear living the life you’ve always wanted.
It’s possible… if you embrace the thing you fear the most.