Get Experience Now
Episode #6 of the course 10 Strategies to Overcome Your Everyday Fears by Frank McKinley
Welcome to Lesson 6!
So far we’ve learned some valuable strategies for overcoming fear:
• Naming what really scares you
• Slowing down so you can deal with fear
• How to use procrastination to reduce fear
• How to talk yourself into courage
• How to see yourself as the courageous person you want to be
Now it’s time to get some experience!
There Is No Growth in the Comfort Zone
Dreaming is great, but it’s only the first step.
If you want to grow, you’ve got to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Stretching is vital to good health. As you age, the more you stretch, the more limber you’ll stay. And when you injure yourself, your physical therapist will prescribe stretches to restore your health. At first, those healing stretches hurt. But if you don’t do them, the road to healing will never begin.
If public speaking scares you, the best way to get over it is to speak. When I took the Dale Carnegie Course in public speaking, every student was required to speak every night—even the first one!
The good news is, our first talk was a chance to introduce ourselves. Before we gave our talks, our instructor showed us some effective things to say when we meet people for the first time. That made the talk a lot easier, despite the fear!
Knowing everyone else had to speak made it easier.
Stretch yourself! That’s where real courage happens.
Action Cures Fear
Have you ever touched a snake?
My daughter and I did. Its skin felt different than I imagined it would. And since the zookeeper was holding the snake, it wasn’t as scary as it might have been with the snake in the wild.
I’m not advocating you pick up snakes. The point is, sometimes what scares you loses its power when you face it. Until then, how will you know?
After I gave my first “prepared” speech, the next one was less scary.
The first time I drove a car on the highway was scary. Now I do it without thinking about it.
You beat your fears by facing them. Learn what you can beforehand. Try not to worry about how you feel; focus on what you know. Dive in, and do the best you can.
If you don’t succeed, you’ll do better next time.
Keep at it and in time, you’ll be a master!
Deadlines Are Fantastic Motivators
When someone wants to spend time with you, it means nothing until you put it on the calendar.
Saturday Night Live works because every Saturday they have to be ready to perform. The show has a deadline built into its name.
You gain courage by taking the next step. That means you’ll need to jump in and move before you’re ready. A deadline is leverage. If you’re not ready when you say you are, you’ll be embarrassed. Knowing your date with destiny is on the calendar gives you time to prepare.
If you fail, you can only blame yourself.
You can also learn from the experience, and do better next time.
Start Now
The longer you put off dealing with fear, the more it grows. Schedule something that challenges you today. It doesn’t have to be huge. Make it just a little out of reach.
Stretch as far as you can see, and do it again. Before you know it, you’ll have courage that will surprise you.
In our next lesson, we’ll learn how to use body language to chase fear away. See you there!
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