Move Forward by Finding the Sweet Spot between Fear and Anticipation

“There is no ter­ror in the bang, only in the antic­i­pa­tion of it.” - Alfred Hitch­cock, filmmaker

Have you ever stopped your­self from doing some­thing you want­ed to do because you were scared or con­cerned that the risk was greater than the reward?

You’re not alone. Many of us get moti­vat­ed — or not — based on how we feel going in to some­thing, rather than how we’re going to feel after. And that’s not the right measure.

I talked to a fel­low keynote speak­er recent­ly, about find­ing that sweet spot between fear and antic­i­pa­tion. We agreed that if we let feel­ing ner­vous about an upcom­ing speech stop us, we’d nev­er get to do what we love.

The key to move for­ward is to find a way to con­nect to that feel­ing of sat­is­fac­tion, exhil­a­ra­tion or vic­to­ry you’d get after an accom­plish­ment, before you do it — and then let it car­ry you through your doubts and fears. Try the following:

• Visu­al­iza­tion – Pic­ture your­self doing the activ­i­ty flaw­less­ly and the feel­ing you have when it’s done well. Lots of ath­letes and exec­u­tives mas­ter this
• Write a sto­ry – Using the present tense (I am ener­getic, focused and deliv­er my speech flaw­less­ly), write down what you are doing and how you feel
• Draw a pic­ture or cre­ate a vision board – Cre­ate some­thing that reminds you of what suc­cess looks like
• Talk to some­one whose been there – Ask them about their expe­ri­ence. Not just what they did or how they did it but how they felt.

In its sim­plest form, the fastest way to get some­where is to already be there, in your mind.

The key is to get your mind past the obsta­cle that is hold­ing you back and to look at the deci­sion from the oth­er side.

The Chal­lenge

• Where do you feel stuck now about a deci­sion to make or a goal to achieve?
• How can use one of these tech­niques to help you to see what the fin­ish line looks like, or to push you towards it, more quickly?

We have a team of excel­lent coach­es who are able to help you with over­come your chal­lenges and work on your mind­set. Reach out to us if you ever need assistance.