The Year of No Fear
Doing the things that I have been afraid to do.
Please note that this article was written in the past and this is being posted now in hopes to document all my writings for challenges in one place.
I work as an engineer at an EV charging station startup. Because we are still in the growth and development phase, we have yearly goals on what we would like the year to be like. Last year, the company was practicing the year of quality where we had to constantly think about whether the work we are doing helped keep the quality of our product top tier.
I really liked the idea of having a year that was dedicated to particular objective. It was more structured, provided sense of direction, and the daily work that I did made me think what the year was all about. I decided to coin this idea in my own life and decided that the year 2021 would be the YEAR OF NO FEAR!
Fear is one of the most basic human emotions. It is programmed into the nervous system and works like an instinct. Most of all, fear is a powerful emotion that everyone experiences in their lifetime. If one can overcome their fears, they can excel in many things in their lives and they will feel in control, so I have heard. If you want to overcome fear, you must understand what the purpose is and have an idea on what you want to achieve.
I decided to pick this year to be the year of no fear for several reasons — one of the biggest being that I feel that I am not as confident as I would like to be. I have also been told my many people in the workplace that I need to be more assertive, show confidence when I talk about things I know, and that perception is everything. I have a lot of ideas and opinons but I keep them to myself because I am afraid of being wrong. I am scared of failing, but time and time again have been told it is okay to fail.
When it comes to starting a business, creating new relationships, growing in my career, insecurities about myself and how I look/feel, and doing things alone, I want to feel confident. Fear is a negative emotion that I do not want to experience anymore and the best way to overcome fear is by doing the very things that make me scared.
Taking this into account, I decided that the year of no fear for me meant to overcome a lot of the struggles that I have in those areas of my life. aforementioned. In usual Hinesh fashion, here are my journal notes on where I would like to improve and the plan of action that I will take to ensure I practice this for 2021.
Career
- Speak up more in meetings and not be scared to speak my mind and share my ideas.
- Not be nervous if I do not know something and simply seek the answers that I am looking for.
- Be more open with my personality with my team and crack jokes like I do outside of work.
- Don’t be afraid to send emails. Just hit send!
- Be more assertive.
A lot of my fears with career come from my belief that I cannot speak that well. The first step I will take is joining a toastmasters to get better at speaking in front of people I do not know very well. Everything else can come from me just putting myself more out there and not be as afraid of consequences .
Relationships
- Reach out to people I do not know and connect with them. Not just over the phone, but in person too (hoping to do this latter half of the year after being vaccinated).
- Not being afraid to say no to things I do not want to do. I am a yes man, but I do not always want to do things. I should be okay with saying no at times.
I think I fair well with my current relationships, especially on a personal level. I can connect with others well in 1-on-1 situations. In this life area, I want to be comfortable with reaching out to people and joining communities where people share my interests. It may be scary at first, but the fear will be removed after putting myself in those situations.
Money Moves
- Investing more money into stocks.
- Spend money on a business venture.
- Invest in myself by paying for tools I can use to better my health and well being.
- Travel expenses and travelling alone to destinations I am unfamiliar with.
Because I grew up with little to no money, now that I make a decent amount, I need to overcome the fear of being broke again. I need to take risks and spend money on ideas that I have and invest my money in stocks and crypto. I also need to buy experiences for myself and not be scared of running out of money one day. Money should not be something that is feared, it is something that should be used as a tool to get more money.
Personal Insecurities
Many of these have already been discussed in previous points. However, I would like to practice doing things that I am scared of or not would regularly attempt to do unless I am with others. I need to be comfortable with traveling on my own and being more open with my needs and wants with others.
This very post is the start of my year of no fear because if I did not have this goal, I would not have shared my thoughts and ideas with you in this post. I would simply talk in third person, and remove myself from the equation. In my writing, on social media, and just in general I tend to try and be the sideline character of my life. I will be the main character this year and everything I do will have myself in mind.
I will spend money on experiences, business ventures, and ideas that I want to bring to life. The only thing holding someone back from fear is themselves and having come to that realization, I am ready to fuck it up this year and go out there and do things I would never usually do!
Year in Review
This was an amazing year of growth for me. Whenever I felt too nervous or scared to do something, I took on the challenge despite what my logical mind was telling me.
This challenge allowed me to feel more confident in my career, connect with new individuals and past friends on a deeper level, start selling online with Amazon FBA, and realize that my personal insecurities could be addressed once I put myself out there in difficult situations.
I highly recommend people try this for themselves. Just find a theme for the year and use it to fuel the decisions you make. It may be a year of no fear, a year of traveling, a year of writing, etc. It can change your life, like it did mine.
