By Pat Shuler
Pat Schuler was born in a humble log cabin, stolen by gypsies at an early age and raised by wolves, all of which served as excellent preparation for a 25-year career in sales and sales management in corporate America. She helps sales executives, managers and business owners salvage their investments by turning around sales reps in trouble. She makes a difference in an astonishingly short time. Seeing these sales reps flourish is the joy of what she does. www·geminipro·com
You've heard of Fire Fighting, Let's take a minute today to talk about Fear Fighting. You may have heard the old saying "Fire and fear - good servants, poor masters."
Whenever I hear that quote, I always am struck by how much fire and fear have in common.
It's easy for both to get out of control and maim or damage.
We have a fear of both. (Nothing to fear but fear, itself) Both can be hard to capture or contain, much less extinguish.
Both can be controlled and made to serve us, if treated respectfully and knowledgeably.
We are currently in a business climate where fear is an every day companion for most of us. Our friends, business associates and clients can seem to take an almost ghoulish delight in sharing the latest business horror story. Even the strongest of us can find ourselves bitten by the Fear Bug, and from there, the Fear can start to grow like a dread disease. It starts to permeate every task, every phone call, every prospect interaction.
How do we inoculate ourselves from the Fear Virus? How do we keep it from destroying our peace, sapping our energy and stealing our m otivation? You may have heard "What we resist, persists". This is definitely true for fear. We can fear any number of things in these challenging times, many of which are beyond our control.
Pivot Point Question:
What can I affect? What is within my ability to change, control, or manipulate, even minutely? Am I willing to take the effort to do so?
1. Honor the fear. Acknowledge it. Thank it for showing up. Do not deny it, stuff it away, or anesthetize it with food, alcohol or drugs.
2. Be aware that there is no shame in being afraid. Fear is a natural response. It means our systems - body, mind, spirit, and emotions - are working the way they are supposed to.
3. Ask yourself, "What's the worst thing that could happen? Have I been through something like that before? AM I willing to deal with the situation? If not, what am I prepared to do? What am I prepared to change?
4. Understand that fear is not a signal to stop, not a Red Light. Fear is a Yellow Light, telling us to proceed with caution and awareness.
5. Give yourself permission to move forward cautiously, with the fear. Consider Fear an informative traveling companion, not an adversary during these challenging times. And certainly not the thief of our peace of mind and our future security.