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Overcoming Fear: Understand What You Fear

fear-1440347-300x225As humans we have a wide array of fears. Many fear death, many others fear failure. Some fear spiders, some snakes, some fear other people. The business owner compounds those fears with other fears that other people don’t ever experience. For instance, the business owner fears what will happen if his top client drops off. Or perhaps he fears that nobody will ever take his business or product seriously. If you want to be able to overcome your fear, your first step is to understand what you fear.

 

Sizing Up Your Fears

Let’s suppose you are afraid of snakes. Your initial reaction is to say that you fear snakes. They give you the willies and whenever you look at one you get a creepy crawly feeling. But what you are describing is the feeling you get from the snakes, not the actual fear itself.

Instead, you have to dig a little deeper. Your fear likely stems from something you saw or heard when you were younger. You fear that a snake will bite you, poison you, and you will end up dying (yours is a fear of death, not exactly snakes). Or you are scared that one will wrap around you and never let go. Or perhaps you worry that one will crawl into your mouth. The idea is that you don’t fear the snake per se, but rather what the snake can do to you.

Let’s take a look at the business owner. Many claim that they fear failure. But really they do not fear that their business will fail; but rather that they won’t be able to make the income that they need. It’s not exactly about the business failing, but about how it reflects back on them (fear that their reputation and sense of self worth will be damaged) and about how they will survive without this business (a true entrepreneur knows that they will fail, and they have to start again from a new angle).

More than anything, though, the business owner has a fear that trumps all others: regret. This is why many entrepreneurs take some big risks. They know that their idea should work, but they are unsure of whether or not it will work. They are afraid of failure, but even more they fear the regret that they will have if they don’t even try.

Overcoming Your Fear

Determine which fear is setting you back the most. Then deeply analyze that fear and find the root underlying cause. Doing so will help you understand where your fear comes from, and how to overcome it.

When you have boiled things down to exactly what you’re afraid of, then you can take steps toward dispatching that fear. This is the hard part and requires you to constantly face the fear, and push through it. Every time you overcome, it gets a little bit easier.

Practical Taxes Can Help

If you are a business owner, you have a lot on your plate. As a full service accounting firm in Billings, Montana we can help you overcome some of your fears by taking the stress out of your day. We offer a variety of services, like payroll, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and more. Let us take care of your busy work, so you can take care of overcoming your fears.