I asked a successful Tucson business owner, Jennifer Philips, “If you had a 10-year-old child, and could teach them only one important lesson, what would that lesson be?” What Philips said was this:
“Fear is a powerful motivator, which can be a good thing, or a terrible thing. Every time you take an action motivated by fear, make sure it is for self-preservation and it benefits you. Do not allow fear to become a self-limiting factor. Do not allow fear to keep you from taking chances, to keep you from growing. Channel your fears into something positive.”
After doing additional research, I learned nothing makes us more uncomfortable than fear. It is indeed a powerful motivator. In fact, an article in Psychology Today says it is the most powerful motivator. Evidence indicates humans are more motivated by fear than they are by pleasure.
Think of the fears you have had. They might have included the fear of pain, disease, injury, failure, rejection, missing an opportunity, or of being scammed. The most common fears are of public speaking and death.
Fear is a powerful motivator, but it is often a negative one. Fear invokes the flight or fight response, and our first reaction is often to flee back to our comfort zone. If we do not know exactly how to get back to a comfortable place, we will follow anyone who seems to know the path. This makes us vulnerable to predatory people, and susceptible to making bad decisions.
When you think of your own personal fears, what have they prevented you from doing, from achieving? How have your fears held you back?
As our conversation was winding down, it led to another interesting question. “What is the single most important decision most people must make? What is the one decision that can impact their lives the most?”
We will explore the answers to that question in a future Biz Tips article.
