In terms of career progression and personal development, embracing fear and using it to your advantage will be incredibly powerful, because on the other side of your fears there is usually something great awaiting you. To me it is not about being fearless but about acting in the presence of fear. Since it’s always there, it represents a great fuel and fantastic food for thought.
Why do you think I decided to become a speaker? I love being in front of an audience. I come alive when I’m inspiring, educating, positively influencing and impacting people’s lives. Beyond that, I’ve come to understand that when I stretch myself to achieve new levels of performance, or when I put myself in uncomfortable situations, I’m in charge of my fears and I’m learning from them. Since I always fear something, it means that I’m always learning and improving – as long as I decide to act on it.
To manage fears, you can Face them, Embrace them, Act on them and Rethink them.
Face
Proactively acknowledge your fear, whatever it might be. Writing my new book, Global Influence, was a challenge for me and even as I wrote the section about embracing fear, I sensed fear disguised as uncertainty as to whether the book would be worth readers’ time. I also fear that some readers may reject it. This is me recognising that fear and doing it anyway.
Embrace
Accept your fear(s) as valid and normal. In the case of writing my book, it was because I was doing something that I hadn’t attempted before. By embracing it, I also made the conscious decision to use fear to my own benefit as well as yours. How? If I stopped writing, we would all lose. So I continued writing, knowing that if the book was a complete failure, I would find learning and continue forward (this would be the worst case, of course). As I went through this stage, I was also evaluating and understanding where this fear could be coming from and gauging its intensity. Had I never written articles, trainings and speeches before, I don’t think I would have been able to write a book. In this case, fear can highlight that it may not be the right time for you to do something.
Act
When you face and embrace your fear, the next question is what to do with it, or what to do in the situation that is triggering your fear. I always recommend taking some kind of action. Acting with fear is a path to exponential growth, bearing in mind that it doesn’t mean jumping off a cliff. This is why the embracing and evaluating stage is important.
If the fear is intense, it may stop you from acting. Here, my suggestion is that you continue taking small steps towards your goal. For example, imagine you want to start trying to handle and approach conflict positively, but you’re uncomfortable about it because it doesn’t feel like you. Don’t take on the whole thing all at once; you can begin by developing your listening skills, focusing more on the other person. Think about how challenging their views could help them shift and improve. Think about how you would frame it and then, when you are ready, delve into a light conflict, which may be as minor as disagreeing about the quality of the coffee in the office. Practice is key, so take action and keep on stretching.
Rethink
Always take time to rethink your actions. Consider how they went, what could be done differently next time and what you have learned from the experience. Focus on increasing your global influence by saying ‘yes’ in the face of fear, and taking action, even when it feels uncomfortable.
You can do this right after the action or at the end of your day. The key thing is to set aside dedicated time for thoughtful consideration and to recognise the importance of stepping outside your comfort zone to expand your impact on the global playground. This gives you freedom. Think about it – what can stop you when you devote your day-to-day to invest in and cultivate your fear-embracing mindset?
To enhance your global influence as a leader, it is crucial to adopt a fear-embracing mindset. This will empower you to skilfully handle the inevitable challenges, rejections and failures that will arise during your journey. How you respond to these obstacles will ultimately determine your success or failure, highlighting the importance of cultivating a well-trained mind.
The mind is conditioned to protect and serve us, leading to fight or flight responses in many situations. The mental workout here is to stop and analyse these reactions and feelings and to find rational ways to change or recondition them to favour the intentions and goals of modern life.
Feel your fears and move forward. The more you face, embrace, act and rethink your fears, the more flexible you’ll become in navigating the international waters of human interactions, and life in general.
This is an adapted book extract from Global Influence by Jose Ucar.
Jose Ucar is an international influence and communication expert, Tedx Speaker, trainer and coach, who helps business leaders to build strong and successful international relationships with customers and colleagues alike. Jose’s mission is to enable organisations to communicate effectively internationally in a way that gives them a competitive edge.
Jose’s new book Global Influence is an essential read for leaders looking to amplify their global impact and create meaningful connections with others, regardless of culture.
