Have you ever been overcome by fear to the point where you think you cannot slay your dragons (overcome those fears)? Whether it’s in our print businesses or our personal lives, all of us reach that point on occasion.
Fear holds many people back from achieving the kind of life they dream of and from realizing the results of the God-given gifts with which they have been blessed.
Here are five ideas to help you overcome your fear, slay your dragons, and reach your potential:
1. Name your fear
Why would we want to do that? Once we name the fear, we expose it, making it less powerful. Just naming it alone will help you realize it is not as overwhelming as you thought.
In my own life, my wife, Joy, and I had to name our fear when we discovered that our son Jack had special needs. Special needs programs are offered through the schools, and they end once a child graduates from high school or turns 22. So we named our fear: What would Jack’s future look like as an adult? How could we ensure that he would have a full, happy life?
2. Define the most likely outcome
Consider the most likely outcome for the specific fear you are confronting. If you think about fears you faced in the past, probably 95% of them—or more—never happened or did not happen on the scale that you thought. Once you define the most likely outcome, you will gain confidence in starting to confront your fear and develop a plan to move past it.
3. Discuss your fears with others
This is one of the most cathartic actions you can take. When we discuss our fears with others, we put those fears out in the open and make them less powerful. We will also receive feedback as to how we can overcome those fears and begin to move forward, nullifying any impact they may have.
As Joy and I discussed our fear with others, we began to move past our fear and start asking creative questions instead. For example, what if there were a nonprofit to serve adults with special needs after high school?
Develop a Plan to Make Progress
Once you have named your fear, defined the most likely outcome and discussed your fear with others, you will develop the determination to create a plan to overcome your fear. With your plan, you will be able to slay those dragons and make progress. In 2021, Joy and I put our plan into action. We launched Thrive Community, a nonprofit that provides hope, community and job skills training for special needs adults, including our son!
Help Others Face Their Fears
When we help others face their fears, we help them realize that there are ways to overcome what they fear. It is natural for us to see solutions the other person cannot see because they may be too close to the situation. As we help others face their fears, our confidence grows in our own ability to confront and overcome what we most fear, as well.
Start Slaying Those Dragons
Overcoming fear is a common challenge for all of us. If we develop a process such as the five steps above, we can slay our dragons and no longer be as distracted by them.
Today, our family’s fear has turned into hope. Thrive Community has served many citizens, including our son Jack, giving them friendship, community, job training and a bright future. We also have plans to expand into a full-time, on-campus community down the road. We not only slayed our dragons, but helped other families slay theirs, as well.
What ideas and processes do you utilize to help you slay your dragons?
Bill Prettyman is CEO of Wise, Alpharetta, GA. Wise manufacturers industrial/prime labels and tags, traditional forms, and digitally printed products and services for resale only. For more information, visit www.wbf.com or email Bill at [email protected].
Want to read more Wise blogs? Visit our archive here.
